Deaths and Injuries in Police Custody [Archive] - Page 2

Andrea

08-09-2016, 04:48 PM

Man shot to death by L.A. County deputy was not a carjacking suspect, officials say

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sheriff-shooting-20160809-snap-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sheriff-shooting-20160809-snap-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department acknowledged Tuesday that a man who was shot and killed by a deputy in Compton last month was not connected to a carjacking that led to the shooting, as it had reported earlier.

Donnell Thompson, 27, was fatally shot by a deputy on July 28 near the 800 block of West Stockwell Street during an intensive search for a carjacking suspect who had allegedly fired at deputies, striking their patrol cruiser. At the time, the Sheriff’s Department said Thompson matched the description of one of the carjacking suspects.

“We have determined that there is no evidence that Mr. Thompson was in the carjacked vehicle, nor that he was involved in the assault on the deputies,” the department said in the statement.

The announcement came hours before Thompson’s family called on Los Angeles County supervisors to hold the deputies involved in the shooting accountable. The family plans to file a federal civil rights claim against the county Wednesday, according to attorney Brian Dunn.

Deputies came across Thompson during the search when a neighbor reported finding a man lying in his yard, then called 911 around 5 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Sheriff’s homicide Capt. Steven Katz said deputies from the department’s Special Enforcement Bureau, which handles dangerous tactical situations, tried to use several less-lethal force options against Thompson after numerous attempts to communicate with him failed. Thompson was lying with his left hand under his head and his right hand under his mid-section, Katz said.

Deputies at the scene were concerned Thompson might have had a gun next to him or been involved in the carjacking, and they relayed that to the tactical officers, Sheriff’s homicide Lt. John Corina said. A flashbang was deployed, but had no effect, according to Katz, who said the tactical officers then fired three rubber bullets at Thompson.

Two of those rounds struck Thompson, who then stood up, looked around, and ran toward an armored sheriff’s vehicle. A deputy in that vehicle fired two rounds from an M4 rifle, striking Thompson twice in the upper torso.

“His concern was if he gets past me, then he’s in the community, can get into somebody’s house, then we have a barricaded suspect,” Katz said of the deputy’s decision to open fire.

Another suspect in the carjacking case, 24-year-old Robert Alexander, had been found hiding in another person’s home shortly before deputies came into contact with Thompson, Katz said. That suspect had yet to be officially identified as the carjacker, according to Katz.

The fact that deputies were still concerned that another carjacking suspect might be on the loose and that the one man already taken into custody had been found in a nearby home made the deputies who confronted Thompson more concerned about the danger he might pose if he got away, Katz said.

Alexander, who was charged with attempted murder and carjacking, has an extensive criminal record, Katz said. He was said to be wearing a dark-colored sleeveless vest and shorts. At the time of the shooting, Thompson was wearing what appeared to be a grey Kobe Bryant jersey and shorts.

While he declined to call the shooting a mistake, Katz said the incident had certainly raised questions.

“Knowing what we know now, do we wish it hadn’t happened?” he said. “It speaks for itself.”

No weapon was recovered.

Thompson’s relatives said Thursday morning that the 27-year-old — who was nicknamed “Lil’ Bo’ Peep” — had no criminal record and would never pose a threat to anyone. Thompson may have had an undiagnosed mental disability, according to his oldest sister, Matrice Stanley, who said he was taking classes for people with diminished mental capacities at El Camino College’s Compton Center.

”His age was 27, but mentally, he was not at that age,” she said. “Mentally, he was probably 16.”

Stanley and other relatives attended a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday morning to protest the shooting. Emotions ran high inside the meeting, as chants of “say his name!” and “Donnell Thompson” echoed throughout the chamber between brief speeches from the man’s relatives.

”When you killed my brother, you killed me,” Stanley said.

Relatives did not know why Thompson was on the street where the shooting took place, but believed he became startled when approached by deputies. Sheriff’s officials said they were also unsure why Thompson was there.

Dunn, the family’s attorney, said a federal civil rights claim will be filed against the county on Wednesday.

Donnell Thompson, 27, was fatally shot by a deputy on July 28 near the 800 block of West Stockwell Street during an intensive search for a carjacking suspect.

“Everything that we’ve learned up to this point has demonstrated that the SWAT officers or the deputies that responded, from the initial contact with Mr. Thompson up until the shooting, behaved in an aggressive manner and did not adopt a tactical attitude that would have de-escalated this encounter into a peaceful one,” Dunn said. “The result is that we have an unarmed individual, who had committed no crime, who once again has been the victim of a law enforcement homicide.”

Speaking to the county’s Board of Supervisors, relatives pointed out that Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Mo. They said they were horrified to see Thompson, who was black, become the latest name associated with the national controversy over how police use force, particularly against blacks.

Relatives described Thompson as a harmless, shy man who was a fan of Michael Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers. Danielle Moore, a 21-year-old former classmate, said Thompson could often be found playing the card game “Uno” at Compton Center, adding that he rarely lost unless his friends cheated at the game.

The youngest of four siblings, Thompson lived with his father in Compton and mostly kept to himself, relatives said.

”You had to be this close to hear him [speak],” said Thompson’s cousin, Larmar Avila, as he held his finger to his ear. “He’s soft-spoken. He was gentle. What was the threat?”

The Sheriff’s Department’s announcement came after a lengthy review, including a special session by the department’s Critical Incident Review Committee on Monday, to determine whether Thompson was involved in the carjacking and the alleged assault on the deputies.

The committee, which included assistant sheriffs, chiefs, commanders, personnel from risk management and training, the Executive Force Review Committee chair, county counsel, inspector general and sheriff’s constitutional policing advisers, reviewed gunshot testing residue, DNA evidence to determine if Thompson was in the carjacking vehicle, fingerprints and interviews with family, deputies and witnesses.

The deputy has been reassigned to non-field duties, though sheriff’s officials have not released his name. The investigation into the fatal shooting is continuing and findings will be presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The Sheriff’s Department initially reported that Thompson was one of two carjacking suspects.

The events leading to the shooting began when Compton station deputies stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation near 134th Street and Alameda Avenue about 2:30 a.m. After running the plates, the deputies discovered the vehicle was stolen earlier that night in South Los Angeles. When the deputies called for backup, the driver sped away. That started a chase during which shots were fired at the pursuing deputies.

The carjacker drove through the schoolyard at Jefferson Elementary and crashed into multiple fences, according to Katz. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed into the curb in the 13400 block of Compton Avenue.

According to authorities, once the car stopped, one suspect exited the vehicle and there was an exchange of gunfire. Several shots struck the deputies’ cruiser but no deputies were injured.

Authorities said the gunman and another suspect escaped into a nearby neighborhood, so officials cordoned off several blocks and set up a perimeter.

At one point, the gunman forced his way into a home in the 2000 block of North Slater Avenue, where deputies found him hiding, Katz said. He was taken into custody and was found to match the description of one of the carjacking suspects.

At about 5 a.m., they were notified about Thompson, who was 200 to 300 feet from the initial gun battle with deputies.

At the Compton neighborhood Tuesday morning, neighbors were reluctant to talk.

Just feet away from Bandera Avenue and Stockwell Street, outside a light green stucco home, several votive candles and flowers were placed on the sidewalk. Some were lined up to form the letter "D."

"R.I.P bro/best friend" was written with a black marker on a red candle.

The troubling details of Thompson’s death come as the Sheriff’s Department is investigating two other recent shootings of unarmed men, and two years after another mistaken identity shooting rocked the agency.

In 2014, sheriff’s officials acknowledged that deputies mistakenly shot and killed an aspiring TV producer whom they thought was a stabbing suspect. John Winkler, 30, had gone to a neighbor's apartment in West Hollywood where a man was holding people hostage and tried to help. Winkler was shot when he rushed out of the apartment with another victim who had been trapped inside the apartment with a third victim and the suspect.

Deputies also shot an unarmed homeless man, 51-year-old William Bowers, in Castaic while trying to question him on Aug. 2. Bowers had jumped off a bike and attempted to flee when he was fatally shot in the upper torso, authorities said. Five days later, a deputy shot an unarmed suspect inside a residence in Inglewood. The suspect had fled into the home after a deputy attempted to stop him from spraying “gang graffiti” on a nearby wall, the department said in a statement.

The supervisors did not discuss the Thompson case after hearing from his relatives on Tuesday, but Supervisor Hilda Solis offered a brief statement of condolences to the family.

“There are members of the board who are sympathetic, and we care about you, and we care about your family and our neighborhoods,” she said.

*Anya*

08-09-2016, 07:20 PM

The US government will track killings by police for the first time ever

By Tess Owen

August 9, 2016

The US Department of Justice, for the first time, will keep a comprehensive database of fatal officer-involved incidents, amid rising skepticism around police accountability.

It seems impossible to ignore that the announcement from the Federal Register came late on Monday, just one day before the two-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown — the unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. His death triggered protests, sparked a national conversation about policing, and shone a spotlight on the systemic racism that pervades criminal justice in the US.

Until now, the FBI has maintained a dataset which includes information about fatal police shootings. Local law-enforcement agencies can voluntarily submit homicide statistics, including incidents involving police, to state police departments, which in turn send the data to the FBI. But since Brown's death, that system has been widely discredited.

An investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that the FBI dataset was missing more than 550 police killings between 2007 and 2012 from 105 of the country's largest police departments.

The new DOJ system is modeled after "The Counted" — a groundbreaking initiative by The Guardian which kept track of police killings since 2015 by relying on local media reports, and as a result has created a more complete picture of brutality by law enforcement in the US.

All law enforcement agencies — 19,450 in total — will be required to submit quarterly reports of all officer-involved deaths directly to the DOJ, including information about the location and time of the incident, manner of death, the victim's behavior during the incident, reason for initial contact, and the victim's race, age, gender, and so on. Failure to comply means they could lose 10 percent of their agency's funding.

Medical examiners and coroners will also be required to submit reports to the DOJ whenever they receive a body of someone who was killed by police.

Federal officials also say they will also work independently to verify fatal officer-involved incidents seen in local media reports and other sources, rather than waiting for police confirmation.

https://news.vice.com/article/the-us-government-will-track-killings-by-police-for-the-first-time-ever?

Andrea

08-10-2016, 12:22 PM

LAPD officer charged in assault quietly avoids jail time under plea deal with prosecutors

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-lapd-plea-20160809-snap-story.html (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-lapd-plea-20160809-snap-story.html)

The videotaped assault was so alarming, one Los Angeles police official called it “horrific.” The victim later said he was afraid he was going to die.

The LAPD and the civilian Police Commission came down hard on Officer Richard Garcia, saying he violated department policies when he kicked and punched Clinton Alford Jr. during an October 2014 arrest in South Los Angeles. The district attorney came down even harder, taking the rare step of filing a felony assault charge against an on-duty officer.

Garcia faced up to three years in jail if convicted.

Then the case quietly came to an end.

Under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors this spring, Garcia pleaded no contest to the felony charge as part of a deal with prosecutors that will see him avoid jail time if he completes community service and donates $500 to a charity by late May 2017. Under the agreement, Garcia would then be allowed to enter a new plea to a misdemeanor charge that would replace the felony and would be placed on two years of probation, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said.

Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, whose office never publicly announced the plea, defended her office’s decision to settle the case without any jail time, saying she felt the agreement was appropriate.

She declined to detail the reasons for the plea, but said prosecutors generally look at a range of information including the seriousness of the victim’s injuries, whether the defendant has a prior record and the credibility of the witnesses. Video, she cautioned, “doesn’t tell the whole story sometimes.”

Lacey declined to say whether pending criminal charges filed against Alford influenced the decision. Court records showed Alford, 24, faces charges including pimping, rape and assault with a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

“I understand how in looking at the final result, someone may think that it wasn’t a just sentence,” she said. “But they simply don’t have all the information that we did when we made the final decision.”

Lacey said that she believed filing the felony charge against Garcia signaled to both police officers and residents that “people will be held accountable.”

“I do think it sends a strong message to any law enforcement officer who is thinking about violating the law,” she said. “If you talk to any officer about a felony on their record gotten in the course of their job, I don’t think anyone would see this as light at all.”

But others disagreed. Mac Shorty, the chair of the Watts Neighborhood Council, said the outcome was too lenient and another example of Lacey not holding police officers accountable during a time of increased scrutiny of how officers use force, particularly against African Americans.

“That’s not justice,” he said. “If I do something wrong, I face prison time. It’s not fair to the community that anybody coming into the community mistreats someone and gets a slap on the wrist.”

Caree Harper, an attorney representing Alford in a federal lawsuit he filed against the city, said that for nearly two years, her client and his family “have believed that Mr. Garcia would receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist and be back on the beat in no time.”

Garcia, who has been with the LAPD for about a decade, is awaiting what is known as a Board of Rights hearing, where a three-person panel decides disciplinary cases for officers who usually face termination or lengthy suspensions.

The officer’s lawyer defended his client’s actions, saying the LAPD and Lacey both overreacted to what he described as a reasonable level of force. Attorney Robert Rico said Garcia was “ready and willing to go to trial” but accepted a deal that he believed was in his best interest.

“This case was overcharged from the start. It never should have been filed,” Rico said. “The only reason it was filed was because of the ongoing, negative berating that law enforcement gets…. The D.A. and the chief politicized it.”

Alford’s arrest mirrored similar encounters with police across the country that have prompted criticism and concern: A black man, assaulted by a police officer, caught on tape. The video of the encounter — captured by a nearby security camera — was enough to raise alarm among police officials, but has not been made public.

In an earlier interview with The Times, Alford said he was riding his bicycle along Avalon Boulevard when a car pulled up and a man yelled at him to stop. Someone grabbed the back of his bike, he said, so he jumped off and ran.

Authorities later said police were investigating a robbery and that Alford matched the description of their suspect.

After a short chase, two police officers caught up to Alford. The video showed him getting on the ground and putting his hands behind his back, according to several police officials who saw the footage.

Seconds later, the sources said, a patrol car pulled up and a uniformed officer bailed out of the car, rushing toward Alford.

Garcia kicked, elbowed, punched and slapped Alford, according to a report from Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck made public last fall. The officer’s actions, the chief said in the report, were not reasonable “given Alford’s limited and unapparent resistance.”

“I was just praying to God that they wouldn’t kill me,” Alford told reporters. “I felt that I was going to die.”

Six months after the arrest, Lacey’s office announced that Garcia had been charged with felony assault under the color of authority. At the time, he was the third LAPD officer facing such a charge in connection with an on-duty incident caught on camera.

Jonathan Lai was charged in 2014 after prosecutors said he repeatedly struck a man — who was on his knees and had his hands on his head — with a police baton outside a restaurant near Staples Center. A jury acquitted him of two felony charges last year.

Mary O’Callaghan was convicted last year in connection with a deadly 2012 incident involving a woman arrested in South L.A. Patrol car footage showed the veteran officer kicking Alesia Thomas in the stomach and groin while the woman was in handcuffs and leg restraints. Thomas, a 35-year-old mother, lost consciousness in a police car and died later at a hospital.

But Lacey has faced criticism over her handling of other cases involving law enforcement officers, including her decision not to charge a California Highway Patrol officer who punched a woman along the 10 Freeway — another encounter caught on video.

Activists have also questioned why prosecutors have not yet said whether they will charge the LAPD officers who fatally shot Ezell Ford, a mentally ill black man, as he walked near his South L.A. home. Thursday marks the two-year anniversary of Ford’s death.

“She has hurt the community more than she’s helped us by not holding these people accountable,” Shorty, the Watts resident, said.

A judge approved the plea agreement with Garcia at a court hearing on May 26. News of the deal emerged this week, first reported by Jasmyne Cannick, a political consultant and commentator who also blogs about the LAPD.

Under the agreement, a D.A.’s spokeswoman said, Garcia must complete 300 hours of community service, stay away from Alford and follow all laws before his next hearing in May. If he violates those terms, the felony will stand and he will be placed on three years’ probation. If he doesn’t show up to court for the hearing, he could be sentenced to jail.

“I am confident you will be here,” Judge William N. Sterling told Garcia when the deal was finalized. “But if you do fail to appear … the court can then sentence you to the maximum.”

“Do you understand and agree?” the judge asked.

“Yes,” Garcia replied.

Andrea

08-12-2016, 01:14 PM

Houston police officer off the streets after abc13 investigation

http://abc13.com/1466162/ (http://abc13.com/1466162/)

In a newly obtained video, a Houston Police officer is seen balling his fist, punching a woman in the face and slamming her to the floor of a drunk-tank cell after she swung her elbow at the officer while questioning the no-refusal blood test. She is charged with felony assault. Until Ted Oberg Investigates asked questions, it wasn't apparent the officer's actions would even face strict review.

The incident and the video -- which Harris County District Attorney's Office said is now under review by civil rights prosecutors -- is the second to emerge from the Houston police lockup providing a look at officers physically reacting to suspects brought into the drunk tank.

Houston police brass have consistently refused to answer questions from abc13 about these incidents. Mayor Sylvester Turner declined comment on the first video uncovered by Ted Oberg Investigates, saying that incident took place in December 2014, during the administration of the previous mayor, Annise Parker.

This latest incident, involving 43-year-old Sharon Graves of Katy, took place March 30 -- nearly four months into Turner's term. He learned of this video after abc13 started asking questions about it and said this week he wants HPD to "scrutinize it very carefully to make sure police officers acted correctly."

"I expect a very thorough, very detailed review," Turner said early Wednesday.

By late Wednesday - hours after abc13 started promoting the story -- City Hall announced the officer was placed on administrative leave.

This incident comes as police departments across the country are coming under greater scrutiny for their actions with suspects in their custody and as Turner's team is conducting a nationwide search to replace the Houston police chief who retired six months ago.

Arrested for driving while intoxicated, Graves refused a breath sample so a judge issued Houston police a 'no-refusal' warrant to test her blood.

Once inside the testing room, Graves had questions about the paperwork

"The documentation didn't look right," Graves told abc13. "I was trying to get answers."

Her lawyer, Tyler Flood, said that Graves, who has many law enforcement friends, had legitimate questions about the warrant.

Then, "She stood up, showing physical objection to the legality of the process," Flood said.

Added Graves, "I was scared. I've never been in that situation."

The HPD surveillance video shows it unfold.

Graves is seen holding the warrant, examining it.

"I don't see my name on there," she tells the officer.

The officer explains her name is on the document. "It's signed by a judge," he adds.

"No, it's not," she replies.

See those straps right there," the officer tells Graves, pointing at a grey seat with harnesses where DWI suspects sit to have blood drawn. "I want you to act like a lady and have a seat." Graves does not. She instead moves to grab piece of paper and walk out of the blood testing area. Graves attempts to reach a cell phone in the back of her jeans pocket, as well.

The video clearly shows she did not obey the lawman's orders. Graves remains standing and swings her elbow, striking the officer on his cheek.

That's when the officer shoves her into the chair and then punches with his balled, yanking of Graves onto the floor.

But it wasn't over.

The officer put Graves' hands behind her back, slapped her with cuffs and shoved her back in the chair.

With Graves breathing heavily, slumped in the chair, other HPD staff came into the room.

"She clocked me," the officer exclaims to the staff. "Look at the video."

More breathing from Graves. "Yea, look at the [expletive] video," she gasps. "You know what? You're going to lose your job..."

The officer: "No I'm not."

HPD told abc13 that the use of force was reviewed.

The department did not allow him to talk about the case to Ted Oberg Investigates and abc13 is not naming him because he has not been charged with a crime.

Houston Police Officer Union President Ray Hunt described the officer's actions as proper police work.

"I honestly see nothing in there that disturbs me except (I'm) a little bit shocked the officer let her go for her cell phone in her back pocket and he didn't take her down at that point," he said.

He also believed the public's reaction would likely be mixed.

"Ten Houstonians who had never seen someone belligerent with a police officer? They'd probably say, 'Wow,'" Hunt said. "Ten Houstonians who have had to see officers subdue people who were were failing to respond? They would go, 'I'm good with that.'"

District Attorney Devon Anderson said today she did not want the video released publicly.

"The reason I won't comment on it and the reason we don't want it released is that it is a pending case and we don't want to influence potential jurors," Anderson said. "There was a use of force that needs to be investigated."

A DA spokesman added the office is looking at this case vigorously.

"We are far from running away from this," he said. "We serve the public. This case will very likely be taken to a grand jury so that 12 citizens can decide if the officer should be indicted or no-billed."

Graves had no criminal history before the arrest. She may now: a DWI misdemeanor charge from the initial arrest and a felony assault for allegedly purposefully injuring that officer with her elbow. She denies both charges.

Photos taken by the HPD that night allegedly show his injury. In the photos, his cheek appears red but no other injury is evident.

"They have to knowingly prove that she intentionally and knowingly assaulted this person and that's absolutely not what happened," Graves attorney Flood said.

Graves is in the process of filing a complaint with the police's Internal Affairs Division.

She lauds law enforcement officers who patrol the streets every day. She told abc13 that she questioned only this "one officer."

This is the second such video obtained by abc13 showing behavior in the Houston drunk tank that has raised eyebrows.

On August 1, Ted Oberg Investigates reported on the case of Reuben Williams, who was handcuffed in a cell surrounded by police officers after his arrest for alleged drunk driving.

Video shows Williams struggled with officers. And the officer said in a report that Williams also spit on him. The officer then said he pushed Williams away. Williams denies spitting on the officer.

Then the video shows William's head slamming against the jail door frame.

Seconds later, Williams drops to the floor with blood from his head smearing the wall and floor of that cell deep red.

Since that report aired aired, HPD said that Williams is being sought for arrest due to open warrants related to his December 2014 arrest.

Andrea

08-13-2016, 10:15 AM

Cleveland woman punched by police officer while handcuffed suffers from mental illnesses, family says

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/08/cleveland_woman_punched_by_pol.html (http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/08/cleveland_woman_punched_by_pol.html)

The Cleveland woman punched in the face Thursday by a police officer suffers from mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, family members said.

Ciara Perez-Rodriguez, 21, suffered bruises and swelling on her face and arms in the altercation with police officers, according to her father, Louis Perez.

The altercation with an unnamed police officer during an arrest sweep on Cleveland's West Side was caught on video and quickly garnered widespread attention.

Officials have not identified the police officer who punched Perez-Rodriguez as she was handcuffed against a police cruiser. Court records identify several Cleveland police officers involved in the arrest, but do not directly identify the officer who hit Perez-Rodriguez.

The incident happened about 1 p.m. Thursday in the 1300 block of West 80th Street. Perez-Rodriguez's 14-year-old cousin, Andrew Perez, said he witnessed the incident.

Andrew Perez said he was with his grandmother when police descended on the neighborhood. The officers pointed guns at residents, including some children, he said.

Andrew Perez said his cousin told officers she didn't want to give them her name. She walked away from the officers, who then arrested her, he said.

Perez-Rodriguez spit on the officer to try to stop him from arresting her, Andrew Perez said. He said the officer hit her, put her in a chokehold and dragged her to the ground.

An arrest affidavit says Perez-Rodriguez threw a Pepsi can at several police officers. The officers told her she was under arrest. She spit at two Cleveland police officers, court records say.

Officers wrote that she continued to fight with officers while being handcuffed and kicked one officer in the shin. She spit at another officer and kicked an officer twice, including once in the groin, according to court records.

She kicked another officer in the shin as she was being put into the police cruiser. The officer grabbed her arm, causing heavy bruising, according to court records.

"You can't put that type of pressure on her," Louis Perez said Saturday. "Because right away, she'll lose control."

Perez-Rodriguez appeared Saturday in Cleveland Municipal Court, where she is charged with felony assault of a police officer. Cleveland Municipal Judge Marilyn Casssidy set Perez-Rodriguez's bond at $1,000.

Two others arrested during the sweep also made court appearances. Jorge Perez Montano, 19, is charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Court records say police arrested him with a .380-caliber handgun hidden in his fanny pack that also had crack cocaine in it.

A third man, Gary Morales, 22, is also charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Police reported Morales had a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a fanny pack under his shirt. Morales also had nine baggies of marijuana inside the pack, court records say.

The incident comes when Cleveland police are under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice meant to reform a department plagued with complaints about excessive use of force and how police officers handle residents suffering from mental illnesses.

A 2014 report from the Justice Department criticized the police department for, among other things, officers injuring citizens who were already handcuffed.

Cleveland police spokesman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia previously said officers were conducting a multi-agency operation. She did not give details or immediately return a call Saturday seeking comment.

Cleveland city spokesman Dan Ball said Friday he did not know if the officer who punched the woman is a Cleveland policeman.

"This has to stop," Andrew Perez said.

Andrea

08-17-2016, 07:31 PM

Albany Officer Arrested, Accused of Slamming Teen Girl to the Ground

http://www.twcnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2016/08/17/officers-allegedly-slam-st-anne-institute-resident-to-ground-albany.html (http://www.twcnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2016/08/17/officers-allegedly-slam-st-anne-institute-resident-to-ground-albany.html)

Speaking to the media Wednesday, Albany Police Chief Brendan Cox announced the arrest of officer Ervis Miftari, saying the officer;s actions with a 15-year-old girl was out of line.

"Our responsibilities are to protect the vulnerable," Cox said. "This was not protecting the vulnerable."

Police say on July 26, Miftari and his partner John Schueler responded to the St. Anne Institute for a female assaulting a staff member and breaking items. After arriving, the pair made a police report, then, per school protocol, placed the girl into a room with video surveillance.

"Officer Miftari enters the room and engages the 15-year-old female in a physical confrontation, grabbing her and pushing her," Cox said.

The chief says 30 seconds later, after leaving the room, Miftari is seen on video entering again when court documents say he grabbed her by the jaw, pushed her against the wall, then threw her against the ground.

"He holds her there for a time period of 30 seconds, then lets her get back up. They have a discussion and he leaves the room," Cox said.

This all occurred while Miftari's partner and three staff members watched. The chief says on August 4, the school notified police of the incident.

Miftari turned himself in and was arraigned Wednesday on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and second degree harassment.

"There was no reason for that use of force to happen," Cox said. "This was not during an arrest."

Schueler is currently placed on administrative duty, because the chief says he didn't stop Miftari.

"He did not commit a crime," Cox said. "I expect our officers to step in and stop something if they see something happening."

The girl, he says, is shaken up but is doing OK.

Both officers, the chief says, went against what police are trained to do.

"The officer has a good record here," Cox said. "He is certainly described as a fair officer, but this is unacceptable."

Cox added he will not be releasing the video, because he does not want to put the girl through any more trauma. Miftari is due back in court on September 14.

Andrea

08-21-2016, 09:13 AM

SBI: Deaf driver killed in trooper-involved shooting

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/authorities-respond-to-reported-shooting-in-northeast-charlotte/426029600 (http://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/authorities-respond-to-reported-shooting-in-northeast-charlotte/426029600)

A state trooper shot and killed a man Thursday night following a chase that began on Interstate 485 and ended in a northeast Charlotte neighborhood, the Highway Patrol confirmed to Channel 9.

The man that was shot and killed was hearing impaired, police said. The family confirmed to Channel 9 that he was deaf.

Family members told Channel 9 that the man is 29-year-old Daniel Harris.

Officials said that around 6:15 p.m., the trooper tried to pull over a Volvo that was speeding on the interstate near mile marker 30, but the 29-year-old driver would not stop.

The man then led authorities on a brief pursuit, exiting onto Rocky River Road and turning onto Seven Oaks Drive.

Harris must have seen the blue lights behind him as two troopers followed him for 6 miles on I-485, authorities said.

When they reached the off ramp at Rocky River Road, the SBI said troopers deliberately bumped his car trying to get him to stop, but Harris kept going.

The Highway Patrol said a confrontation followed, and that was when Trooper Jermaine Saunders fired the fatal shot.

Residents who saw Harris after the shooting said they did not see a weapon on or near him, and the State Bureau of Investigation confirmed Friday they had not recovered one.

Some residents in the neighborhood where the shooting happened think that Harris didn't stop right away because he was deaf.

The SBI said they are still collecting evidence from the scene, including video from the troopers in car cameras.

The Highway Patrol said Saunders is on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.

Andrea

08-22-2016, 01:05 PM

Video shows LAPD officer kicking and punching in controversial South L.A. arrest

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-video-20160822-snap-story.html (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-video-20160822-snap-story.html)

The video shows a Los Angeles police officer rushing toward the middle of the South L.A. street where two officers were holding a man on the ground.

Officer Richard Garcia swings his right leg and kicks the man hard near his head. Over the next 10 seconds, the video shows Garcia knee the man in the back, and elbow and punch him in the head.

As the other officers stand up and move away, Garcia presses his knee into the man’s back for more than two minutes, stopping only when other officers come to help pick up the handcuffed man and drag him toward a patrol car.

For nearly two years, the video of the October 2014 arrest has been repeatedly cited by L.A. Police Department officials and prosecutors as they denounced Garcia’s actions, sought discipline against him and charged him with felony assault. But the department refused to make the recording public, even after prosecutors agreed in May to a controversial plea deal that spared Garcia jail time.

The Times, however, obtained a three-minute recording of the arrest under an order from an L.A. County Superior Court judge. The video had been introduced as evidence in the criminal case against Garcia.

Clinton Alford Jr.’s arrest mirrored similar video-recorded encounters between African Americans and officers across the country that have prompted heated criticism. Whether to release such recordings has become a crucial issue amid the ongoing national debate over race and policing, particularly as departments add more cameras on officers’ uniforms and in their patrol cars as a way to build public trust.

The LAPD generally does not make those recordings public, a position that has been criticized as the department deploys thousands of body cameras to officers across the city. Chief Charlie Beck, who sharply condemned Garcia’s actions, has said releasing the videos outside of court could jeopardize criminal and disciplinary investigations, and could violate the privacy of people caught on camera.

The video of Alford’s arrest was captured by a security camera at a nearby factory and has been a key piece of evidence against Garcia.

The officer told LAPD investigators that he kicked Alford in the shoulder and used other force to help control him as he resisted police. His attorney also defended his client’s actions, saying he used a reasonable level of force and never should have been prosecuted.
From the get-go, Mr. Alford — you can see in the video — does not threaten the officers in any way, shape or form. — Deputy Dist. Atty. Oscar Plascencia

At a preliminary hearing in December, attorney Robert Rico argued that one of Alford’s hands was under his body and that he “still posed a threat” to the officers, according to court transcripts.

The prosecutor, however, disagreed.

“From the get-go, Mr. Alford — you can see in the video — does not threaten the officers in any way, shape or form,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Oscar Plascencia told the judge.

Alford’s hands are obscured during about half of the video by the two officers who held him down, including during the initial moments when Garcia strikes him. After the other officers move away, Alford barely moves his body as Garcia presses his knee into Alford’s back. At one point, the officer pushes his other knee on top of Alford near the man’s neck.

Garcia is the only officer seen on the video punching, elbowing or slamming into Alford. The recording shows another officer later kick at Alford’s legs to separate them, then stand on Alford’s ankles — a move Beck also criticized.

A woman who worked at the factory where the camera was mounted testified in court that she was alarmed by what she saw that day. Citlali Alvarado was inside the building, near a monitor showing the recording, when police lights caught her eye.

Alvarado said she watched as the officer kicked and elbowed the man on the ground.

“I didn’t think it was a proper action,” she said. “The victim was already held down.”

Soon after, a handful of officers came into the factory and asked whether there were any cameras, Alvarado testified. She led them to the monitor and showed them the video.

Two of the officers laughed as they watched, Alvarado said. The group then left.

Later, Alvarado said, another officer came to the business and asked her to play the recording. Alvarado obliged. At one point, she said, she glanced behind her and noticed the officer recording the video on his cellphone.

When asked who the officer was, Alvarado identified Garcia, who was sitting in court.

Garcia faced up to three years in jail if convicted of the felony assault charge. Earlier this year, prosecutors quietly agreed to a deal that allowed him to plead no contest and avoid jail time if he completes community service, follows all laws, stays away from Alford and donates $500 to a charity by late May 2017.

Under the agreement, Garcia, 35, would be allowed to enter a new plea to a misdemeanor charge that would replace the felony and would be placed on two years of probation. If he violates the plea terms, the felony will stand and he will be placed on three years of probation. If he doesn’t appear in court for the 2017 hearing, he could be sentenced to jail.

Some have criticized the move as too lenient. Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey defended the agreement, telling The Times earlier this month that she felt the deal was appropriate given the evidence examined by prosecutors. She declined to explain the reasons for the plea but cautioned that video “doesn’t tell the whole story sometimes.”

Lacey also declined to say whether pending criminal charges filed against Alford influenced her office’s decision. Court records show that Alford, 24, faces charges including pimping, rape and assault with a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

Assault cases against on-duty law enforcement officers often prove difficult for prosecutors, not least because the law generally gives police wide latitude to use force. In December, a jury acquitted an LAPD officer accused of using excessive force when he repeatedly struck a man with a baton while detaining him near Staples Center in 2012.

But former LAPD Officer Mary O’Callaghan served about 7 ½ months in jail after a jury convicted her last year of assault under color of authority. Prosecutors accused her of kicking a woman in the crotch during an arrest in South L.A. The victim, whose assault was captured on a patrol car camera, later died.

Law enforcement officers charged with felony assault often avoided jail time when they negotiated plea deals with the district attorney’s office rather than risk a trial, according to a Times review of court and district attorney records.

In 2013, for example, Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew John Funicello was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to undergo counseling after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of assault under color of authority. Funicello, who was originally charged with a felony, had been accused of punching a 19-year-old man several times in the face and body while taking him to a downtown jail.

Garcia, who has been with the department for about a decade, is awaiting what is known as a Board of Rights hearing, his attorney said earlier this month. During such hearings, a three-person panel decides disciplinary cases for officers who usually face termination or lengthy suspensions.

The events leading up to the assault charge against Garcia began shortly after noon on Oct. 16, 2014. In an earlier interview with The Times, Alford said he was riding his bicycle along Avalon Boulevard when a car pulled up and a man yelled at him to stop. Someone grabbed the back of his bike, he said, so he jumped off and ran.

Authorities later said police were investigating a robbery and that Alford matched the description of the suspect.

After a short chase, two police officers caught up to Alford. The video shows one officer swinging his baton at Alford, who ducks and moves to the ground. Alford gets on his stomach, spreads his arms out and starts to move them behind his back as the officers grab his hands to cuff them.

Then a police car rushes up. The video shows Garcia getting out of the driver’s seat and running directly toward Alford before delivering the blows.

Beck previously said he was shocked when he saw the video and personally contacted Lacey to seek criminal charges.

Garcia and another officer involved in the arrest told investigators that Alford refused their orders and resisted after he was on the ground, according to a report from Beck made public last fall. Garcia said he punched and elbowed Alford to “cause Alford discomfort” and later used his knee to hit him because he thought Alford was reaching toward his shorts for a weapon.

After viewing the video, Beck concluded the officer’s actions were not reasonable “given Alford’s limited and unapparent resistance,” his report said. The chief and the civilian Police Commission determined Garcia violated department rules during the arrest. Seven months later, prosecutors charged him with assault.

At the time, Beck told reporters that he understood the public interest in the video but insisted that releasing the recording could jeopardize the criminal case against Garcia. After the officer agreed to his plea deal with prosecutors, The Times requested a copy of the recording under the California Public Records Act.

Last week, the LAPD denied that petition, saying it considered the video an investigative record exempt from disclosure. A day later, Superior Court Judge William N. Sterling granted The Times’ request for the video.

Andrea

08-23-2016, 06:43 AM

FIRST ON 7: Newark officers with guns chase young boy in mistaken identity case

http://abc7ny.com/1480080/ (http://abc7ny.com/1480080/)

There is no denying that 10-year-old Legend Preston is big for his age. The shy fifth-grader who loves math was shaken to the core when Newark officers with their guns drawn allegedly chased him down an alley because they thought he was a suspect in an armed robbery.

"Some police started coming this way with guns pointed at me, and then I ran into the backyard," Legend says.

Just before that, Legend was shooting hoops at a basketball court when the ball rolled into the street. Legend ran after it, and thought the officers were chasing after him for running into the street without looking.

"I ran because they thought that I rolled the ball into the street on purpose, and they were just holding shot guns at me trying to shoot me," Legend adds.

The Newark Police say they did have their guns out but never pointed them at the 10-year-old while they were in the alley. Witnesses intervened, telling the officers the person they detained was a child.

"He's only 10 years old, how you all chasing him? He's only a kid. I'm like, 'that's messed up'," said Jackie Kelly.

Legend's mom was in the house when the incident happened, and knows the matter could have ended tragically. She posted a video of a 'petrified' Legend on her Facebook page.

"These policemen who had guns drawn on my child are still on these streets," said Patisha Preston.

Police say they caught 20-year-old Casey Joseph Robinson in the chase. Robinson was charged with armed robbery. There may be some similarities between the two, but there is no doubting legend is a kid.

Andrea

08-23-2016, 04:38 PM

No charges for New Jersey cop in slaying of black man with hands up

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-jersey-police-idUSKCN10Y04A?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-jersey-police-idUSKCN10Y04A?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter)

Federal prosecutors on Monday declined to bring criminal charges against a police officer in New Jersey who fatally shot a black man as he exited a car with his hands raised during a routine traffic stop.

The December 2014 slaying of Jerame Reid in Bridgeton prompted protests in the city similar to demonstrations that have been held across the United States in response to a series of fatal police shootings of unarmed black men.

Reid was killed by Bridgeton Police Officer Braheme Days after the driver of the car in which Reid was riding was pulled over on suspicion of ignoring a stop sign, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.

Reid was unarmed, the attorney's office said.

"Viewing the evidence as whole, the government determined that federal charges are not warranted," U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement.

The charging decision follows a $1.5 million tentative settlement agreement Reid's family reached about a month ago with the city of Bridgeton and the officers.

A grand jury in Cumberland County last year declined to file charges against the officers, local media reported.

Video of the incident shows Days approaching the parked car on Reid's side. "Hey, how are you all doing?" he says before asking why they had not stopped at a stop sign.

Within a few seconds, Days pulls out his gun and tells his patrol partner, Roger Worley, who is white, that there is a gun in the glove compartment.

"Don't you fucking move. I'm going to shoot you," Days said.

He also shouted at Worley to get the men out of the car.

The video shows Days reaching into the car and removing what appears to be a gun and dropping it to the ground. Days repeatedly orders the men not to move and show their hands.

Moments later, Days shouts: "He's reaching! He's reaching!"

Days steps back from the car, and Reid emerges with his hands up around shoulder height.

Almost instantly, both police officers shoot at him. At least six shots can be heard as Reid falls to the ground.

Although Worley also fired his weapon, only the shots fired by Days struck Reid, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

A lawyer for the family did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Bridgeton Police Department.

Andrea

08-29-2016, 06:49 AM

Video Shows Police Pepper Spraying 84-Year Old Woman, Tasering Son

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cops-pepper-spray-elderly-woman_us_57c3268de4b085c1ff29d428 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cops-pepper-spray-elderly-woman_us_57c3268de4b085c1ff29d428)

Andrea: Unable to copy article. Clink link to read.

Andrea

09-08-2016, 06:41 AM

Oakland Fires 4 Officers, Suspends 7 Others In Wake Of Sex Scandal

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/09/07/oakland-fires-4-officers-suspends-7-others-in-wake-of-sex-scandal/ (http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/09/07/oakland-fires-4-officers-suspends-7-others-in-wake-of-sex-scandal/)

A Northern California police department announced Wednesday that it started disciplinary against a dozen officers implicated by a teenage prostitute in a wide-ranging sex scandal.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf says the city’s police department started dismissal proceedings against four officers, but noted some may have previously left the department. The department earlier announced that two officers implicated in the scandal previously resigned. A third killed himself last year.

In addition, seven officers will serve a range of unpaid suspensions before being allowed to return to duty. Another officer will be required to attend training classes.

“I am deeply sorry for the harm this scandal has caused,” Schaaf said.

Schaaf declined to identify the officers. It’s unclear if any of the officers were represented by lawyers. The officers’ union said previously it wasn’t representing most of the implicated officers because the alleged misconduct occurred while they were off duty.

The 19-year-old woman at the center of the scandal said she has had sex with about 30 law enforcement officials throughout the San Francisco Bay Area over the last two years. She said she had sex with four officers before she turned 18 and sometimes traded sex for protection from arrest or tip offs to planned prostitution stings.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t identify sex crimes victims.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley has launched a criminal investigation. Her office didn’t respond to requests for comment late Wednesday.

“We are being very sensitive to the young woman who has been exploited and been hurt,” O’Malley said on Aug. 9 when activists arrived unannounced at her office and demanded officers be charged criminally. “We are working diligently.”

Most of the implicated officers work in Oakland, which has placed three other officers on leave. In June, the department cycled through three chiefs in 10 days after the teen’s allegations were first reported in the media.

Six Richmond police officers and several others working for other law enforcement agencies have also been implicated.

Andrea

09-08-2016, 03:30 PM

WATCH: Black Man's Hands Up, Cop Tases Him in Back

https://www.colorlines.com/articles/watch-black-mans-hands-cop-tases-him-back (https://www.colorlines.com/articles/watch-black-mans-hands-cop-tases-him-back)

The ACLU of Colorado just posted a video of an Aurora, Colorado, police officer using a stun gun on Black man last February.

The edited video, which was posted by the ACLU today (September 8), shows Darsean Kelly and another man’s February 19, 2016, interaction with police officers of the Aurora Police Department. It was drawn from one of the officers’ body camera.

Per the video, which contains text meant to narrate the events, the officers were responding to a call about a man who pulled a gun on a child. The caller did not provide a description of the man. Kelly and his companion were standing on the sidewalk when officers told them to put their hands behind their heads and turn around. Kelly repeatedly asked why he was being detained, and just after he said, “I know my rights!” he was hit in the back with the stun gun, which caused him to fall backward into the street. When Kelly reminded one of the officers that there were witnesses, the officer said, “It's all on video, sweetheart.”

Kelly was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct for failing to obey a lawful order, and the officer wrote that he thought he might be reaching for a weapon. The ACLU of Colorado has filed a motion—which was emailed to Colorlines—with the municipal court to dismiss the case, arguing that Kelly was unlawfully detained and arrested without probable cause or reasonable suspicion.

Watch the video of the incident above.

Andrea

09-09-2016, 05:59 AM

Georgia policeman charged with raping woman on way to jail

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/08/us/georgia-riverdale-police-officer-charged-with-rape/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/08/us/georgia-riverdale-police-officer-charged-with-rape/index.html)

A Georgia police officer is accused of raping a woman while he was transporting her to a jail in an Atlanta suburb, state authorities say.

Former Riverdale Police officer James Larry Robinson Jr., 36, of Jonesboro is charged with rape and sexual assault against a person in custody. He appeared in court Wednesday, and bond was denied, according to the Clayton County Court clerk's office.

The alleged victim made the complaint against the officer August 7, prompting a Georgia Bureau of Investigation inquiry, said GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles.

The woman says Robinson was taking her from the Riverdale Police Department to the Clayton County Jail when he pulled alongside an empty building and assaulted her, according to CNN affiliate WSB.

The building is next to a custom tire shop, and workers there say the upset woman came by the shop and requested footage from their security cameras, WSB reported.

Riverdale police requested the GBI investigate the incident. Robinson turned himself in without incident Tuesday, the same day he was terminated from the force, Miles said.

Robinson remains in Clayton County Jail on no bond, according to inmate records.

CNN's calls to the Riverdale Police Department; Robinson's defense attorney, Keith Martin; and the police union, the Southern States Police Benevolent Association, were not immediately returned.

Andrea

09-09-2016, 08:56 AM

Former cop pleads guilty to sex offenses against adopted daughter

http://www.independenttribune.com/news/former-cop-pleads-guilty-to-sex-offenses-against-adopted-daughter/article_75c40360-753c-11e6-859f-c7872bfe902d.html#.V9H2ainNPBA.twitter (http://www.independenttribune.com/news/former-cop-pleads-guilty-to-sex-offenses-against-adopted-daughter/article_75c40360-753c-11e6-859f-c7872bfe902d.html#.V9H2ainNPBA.twitter)

The Concord Police officer charged with raping his adopted daughter plead guilty to several charges in a plea bargain agreement.

Douglas Buckwell, 42, is in a medium security prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a felony rape case involving his adopted daughter, according to court and prison records.

The case was settled with a plea agreement last week when Buckwell pleaded guilty to one count of sex offense in a parental role, one count of indecent liberties with a child and three counts of misdemeanor child abuse.

After Buckwell made his plea, he was sentenced to 25 to 90 months for sex offense in a parental role and 16 to 29 months for indecent liberties with a child. A variety factors of determine how much of the sentence is served in prison.

Before the agreement, Buckwell could have received 203 months in prison if convicted on all counts, according to court records.

The case originated on Feb. 11, 2016, when a report was made to the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office alleging her adopted father had committed a number of sexual offenses against her between August, 2009 and January, 2016. She alleged that many of the offenses occurred before she was 16 years old. She was 18 when she made the report.

Buckwell was suspended as an officer while an internal investigation was conducted by Concord Police, but resigned in April before that investigation was complete.

Buckwell was originally charged with first-degree statutory rape, statutory rape, first-degree statutory sex offense, statutory sex offense, indecent liberties with a child, sex act by a substitute parent and three counts of misdemeanor child abuse.

The state dropped 12 charges as part of the agreement, according to court records.

Buckwell was admitted into the Craven Correctional Institution in Vanceboro on Thursday, Sept. 1, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety offender website.

Buckwell was a 19-year-veteran of the Concord Police Department and served as a school resource officer since 2000 at Central Cabarrus High School.

According to a press release from law enforcement released in March, there was no evidence Buckwell committed any criminal acts while on duty or serving in the capacity of a Concord police officer.

The case was prosecuted by Rachel B. Larsen, a child abuse resource attorney with the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys. The conference handled the case because of Buckwell’s previous working relationship with the Cabarrus County District Attorney’s Office.

*Anya*

09-09-2016, 10:13 AM

I read this thread because I feel I need to look with unblinking eyes at the tragedies that law enforcement officers and departments have committed but it is difficult to do and painful to read.

Andrea

09-11-2016, 02:53 PM

Southlake officers disciplined after using Taser on DWI suspect

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/northeast-tarrant/article101215492.html (http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/northeast-tarrant/article101215492.html)

A patrol officer has been demoted and another was suspended for a day after a Keller woman was stunned with a Taser in March before her blood was drawn, according to the police chief and the motorist.

Cpl. Brian Fitzgerald was demoted to the rank of officer while Officer David Tatsak was suspended without pay for a day.

“As Chief of the Southlake Police Department, I expect our officers to uphold the highest standards of accountability within our community,” Southlake Police Chief James Brandon said in an email.

Hannah Fossier, 21, of Keller has told the Star-Telegram she repeatedly refused to have blood drawn on the night of March 20, but officers stunned her twice, and then got a nurse to draw her blood.

“I must have told them at least 10 times no,” Fossier told the Star-Telegram in a May telephone interview. “One officer said if you don’t cooperate, I’m going to Tase you, and he did.”

Brandon has declined to comment on whether officers had a warrant to draw blood from Fossier. Generally, a warrant is needed by officers in Texas to draw blood when a motorist refuses, according to local defense attorneys.

Jail records and Fossier gave this account:

Fossier said she was driving home from her job in Southlake when she was involved in an accident in the 400 block of Pearson Lane. Records indicated she is a cashier at Victoria’s Secret in Southlake.

No serious injuries were reported as a result of the crash.

Fossier said she failed a field sobriety test at the scene.

“I told them that I would submit to a Breathalyzer, but I didn’t want blood drawn,” Fossier told the Star-Telegram in May. “The officer said they didn’t do Breathalyzer, and that we were going to the hospital for blood.”

Fossier said she didn’t know where the officer took her. A major area hospital is Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southlake.

“Two officers held me while a nurse tried to draw blood, but I kept telling them no,” Fossier said. “An officer Tased me once, and then a second time. Then they got my blood.”

Jail records showed that Fossier was arrested at 8:46 p.m. March 20.

Fossier was freed after she posted $1,000 bail shortly after her arrest.

Tarrant County court records indicate Fossier was charged with driving while intoxicated April 5. Records were not available showing her blood-alcohol level.

“I had bruises from where they held me down,” Fossier said. “I never gave them permission to take my blood.”

A trial for Fossier is pending.

“The next day I was made aware of concerns with the arrest by police department staff, so I immediately initiated an internal investigation,” Brandon said in a May email.

The officers were disciplined this summer.

Andrea

09-12-2016, 12:04 PM

#DeEscalateDontKill: Black Man Fatally Shot by Florida Cops in His Own Backyard

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2016/09/black-man-shot-by-florida-cops-in-his-own-backyard/ (http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2016/09/black-man-shot-by-florida-cops-in-his-own-backyard/)

In the last year, there has been a hashtag directed towards law enforcement all over the nation: #DeEscalateDontKill.

But the police in Broward County, Fla., must have missed the memo.

The Broward Palm Beach New Times reports that police responded to a domestic disturbance call on Friday night and shot and killed a man who was holding a pocket knife—a “rusty pocket knife”—in his own backyard.

The tragedy was set in motion at about 10 p.m. after Gregory Frazier’s sister called 911 because he was arguing with his niece.

By the time police arrived, Frazier, 56, was planted in the backyard of his Pompano Beach home eating chicken wings and fries with a small Swiss Army-style pocket knife in his hand.

The outlet reports that Frazier’s nephew, Quartaze Woodard, says three deputies showed up and told Frazier to get down on the ground. Frazier responded, “Leave me alone.” The deputies repeated the order. Again, Frazier asked them to leave him alone.

Moments later—not one, but two—deputies from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office opened fire. The New Times reports that neighbors say Frazier was hit between five and six times in the back.

Then, after handcuffing him, and removing the handcuffs once they realized he was non-responsive, police attempted to perform CPR. But it was too late.

As per departmental policy, the deputies were placed on paid administrative leave.

“Yes, he had a pocket knife. A rusty pocket knife,” said sister Deborah Frazier to the Miami Herald. “I believe those three cops could have sat down, talked to him, used Tasers, anything, to constrain him.”

She added to the New Times, “I never would have called the cops if I’d known this was going to happen. They just came in and started shooting right away.”

Andrea

09-17-2016, 02:10 PM

A Chicago cop was just indicted on civil rights charges for the first time in over a decade

http://fusion.net/story/348362/chicago-police-shooting-civil-rights-indictment/?utm_campaign=ThisIsFusion&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social (http://fusion.net/story/348362/chicago-police-shooting-civil-rights-indictment/?utm_campaign=ThisIsFusion&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social)

A federal grand jury indicted Chicago police officer Marco Proano on Friday for a 2013 incident in which he shot indiscriminately into a car full of six unarmed black teenagers, wounding two of them, charging that Proano deprived the victims of “the right to be free from unreasonable force by a police officer,” enshrined in the Fourth Amendment. This marks the first time that federal officials have charged a Chicago police officer for a shooting in 15 years, despite more than 700 police shootings in that time, 215 of them fatal, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

This particular shooting was brought to the public’s attention after a retired Cook County judge, Andrew Berman, released video of the shooting to the Chicago Reporter. “My first reaction was, if those are white kids in the car, there’s no way they [would] shoot,” Berman told the Reporter, saying that he released the video to hold Proano accountable for his “outrageous overuse of deadly force.”

The city of Chicago eventually settled a lawsuit three of the victims’ mothers brought against the officers involved for $360,000, but Proano, who has had at least eight other misconduct complaints filed against him and has been named in at least three other misconduct lawsuits the city settled with his victims, has yet to face any punishment for the shooting beyond being relegated to desk duty and being relieved of his police powers in December—two years after the shooting.

The Independent Police Review Authority, the embattled agency that oversees most police misconduct investigations, told the Reporter that it had recently sustained some allegations against Proano, but refused to say what they are and no record of them appears on their website. The Police Department said its legal office was reviewing the recommendations made by IPRA, but would not say what they were.

A previous shooting by Proano, in which he killed 19-year-old Niko Husband outside of a dance, was the subject of a lengthy Chicago Reader look at one of the rare cases a civil lawsuit in a police shooting case makes it all the way to a trial. The jury found in favor of Husband’s family, but the judge nullified the verdict on a legal technicality.

Outside of Chicago, federal officials have rarely filed civil rights charges in police shootings, declining to charge the officers who shot Jamar Clark in Minneapolis, Dontre Hamilton in Milwaukee, or Michael Brown in Ferguson. (A notable recent exception is the officer who shot Walter Scott in South Carolina.) A review by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review found that federal prosecutors decline to pursue criminal charges against law enforcement officers 96% of the time.

Andrea

09-17-2016, 04:57 PM

METRO officer at center of assault allegations suspended without pay

http://www.click2houston.com/news/2-metro-officers-suspended-after-confrontation-with-man (http://www.click2houston.com/news/2-metro-officers-suspended-after-confrontation-with-man)

A man who METRO police said should not have been beaten with a baton was released from jail Friday night and taken to the hospital after charges against him were dropped.

Why Giles was hospitalized wasn't made immediately available.

The METRO police officer at the center of an investigation into allegations of excessive force has been suspended without pay, and a second officer at the scene has been suspended with pay, according to the agency’s police chief.

According to investigators, Officer Jairus Warren approached 31-year-old Darrell Giles, who was slumped over in a seat at the Burnett Station platform Wednesday morning. After a confrontation, Warren beat Giles with a baton.

METRO Police Chief Vera Bumpers said that after Warren and another officer at the scene, identified as Daniel Reynoso, reported a use-of-force incident, a supervisor reviewed video taken by security cameras at the station.

Bumpers said the video showed Warren beating Giles, but she was not able to determine how many times he was struck. Giles’ attorney said her client was hit more than a dozen times.

“One is too many, in my opinion, if it's not justified," Bumpers said.

The video did not show any use of force by Reynoso, Bumpers said.

Giles' mother, Ossie Giles, said she was shocked when she learned of the incident.

"When I seen him on the news, my blood pressure shot through the roof," she said.

Ossie Giles said the only thing her son can be accused of is sleeping on a bench at a train stop.

"It still hurt[s] my heart every time I see it, that they beat my child like that," she said.

Black Lives Matter has demanded that the video be released. Bumpers said it won't be released until the investigation is complete. The group has threatened to occupy the agency’s headquarters until its demands are met.

Bumpers said she apologizes to Giles for anything that he feels was inappropriate. She said she will not tolerate excessive force, and the agency’s policy is to treat everyone with respect.

Originally, Giles was charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass. Those charges were dropped Friday, according to court records.

Bumpers said there had been no previous complaints of excessive force against Warren.

Giles is expected to recover from his injuries, Bumpers said.

*Anya*

09-17-2016, 07:51 PM

Court: Officer killed man less than a second after command

By AMANDA LEE MYERS

September 16, 2016

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California police officer gave a man less than a second to raise his hands before opening fire and killing him, a federal appeals court noted Friday in rejecting the officer's request to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit against him.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Tustin Police Officer Osvaldo Villarreal couldn't reasonably have feared for his safety when he shot 31-year-old Benny Herrera after responding to a domestic dispute call in December 2011.

That determination ran counter to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, which said in 2013 that the shooting was reasonable and justified because Villarreal fired after Herrera ignored orders to show his hands.

A video captured by a police dashboard camera shows otherwise, according to the 9th Circuit judges who cited the footage.

"Less than a second elapsed between Villarreal commanding Herrera to take his hand from his pocket and Villarreal shooting him," the court wrote. "Just as Herrera's hand came out of his pocket, Villarreal fired two shots in rapid succession ... The command and the shots were almost simultaneous."

The video has not been made public and is under a court seal.

The seven-page review of the case by the Orange County District Attorney's Office does not mention the existence of a video and appears to rely heavily on Villarreal's own statements.

Sonia Balleste, the senior deputy district attorney who wrote the review, said Friday that she didn't immediately recall the case or why the review didn't mention the video but that she was sure she "looked at all the evidence that was available."

"As a general practice it wasn't my custom and habit to write down everything I looked at," she said, adding that her office has since changed how such reviews are written to include more information.

Attorneys for Herrera's parents and four children, all under 7 years old, filed a civil lawsuit against Villarreal and Tustin in 2012. Friday's ruling allows that lawsuit to move forward to trial and upholds a lower court's order declining to toss it out.

Tustin City Attorney David Kendig, speaking on behalf of Villarreal and the city, noted that the 9th Circuit was looking at the case in the light most favorable to Herrera's family.

He said the city provided the district attorney's office with video of the shooting but didn't know why it didn't make it into their review of the case.

Dale Galipo, who represents Herrera's family, criticized the district attorney's review as a "farce."

"Are they not getting all the information from the agency? Did they not get the video, or are they just ignoring facts that support that the shooting was excessive?" Galipo said. "The whole process is flawed. It really is a joke."

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/631a657961a3419c8519e4f2eed07143/court-officer-killed-man-less-second-after-command

Andrea

09-20-2016, 08:56 AM

Man fatally shot by Tulsa police was unarmed, chief says, as ‘disturbing’ video is released

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/19/man-fatally-shot-by-tulsa-police-was-unarmed-chief-says-as-disturbing-video-is-released/?utm_term=.153f48142eec (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/19/man-fatally-shot-by-tulsa-police-was-unarmed-chief-says-as-disturbing-video-is-released/?utm_term=.153f48142eec)

Tulsa, Okla., police released video footage Monday that shows a white police officer fatally shooting an unarmed black man — footage that the city’s police chief called “very disturbing.”

“It’s very difficult to watch,” Police Chief Chuck Jordan said at a news conference Monday. “The first time I watched it I watched it with the family … we will do the right thing, we will not cover anything up.”

Jordan said investigators never found a weapon on Terence Crutcher or in his vehicle after the 40-year-old was shot and killed Friday as he stood beside his stalled SUV.

Crutcher died in a hospital later that evening.

Police spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie had earlier told reporters that two officers were walking toward the stalled SUV when Crutcher approached them from the side of the road.

“He refused to follow commands given by the officers,” MacKenzie said. “They continued to talk to him; he continued not to listen and follow any commands. As they got closer to the vehicle, he reached inside the vehicle and at that time there was a Taser deployment, and a short time later there was one shot fired.”

U.S. Attorney Danny Williams has announced that the Justice Department has opened an independent investigation into the shooting.

The footage is the latest in a series of controversial videos showing white police officers fatally shooting unarmed black men, and promises to add a new chapter to an already bitter and divisive debate about race and policing in America.

Crutcher is one of at least 680 people — 161 of them black men — who have been shot and killed by police officers this year, according to a Washington Post database tracking police shootings.

As has been the case in city after city following fatal police shootings, local officials called for calm and promised transparency in the hopes of preempting civil unrest.

“Please maintain the peace,” Jordan urged.

The chief released few details about the shooting Monday, but said that officers discovered an SUV running in the middle of the road with its doors open. He said that officers then encountered Crutcher, who the officers claim did not comply with their demands and appeared to reach into the vehicle.

Video shows Crutcher walking toward his vehicle with his hands above his head while several officers follow closely behind him with weapons raised. He lingers at his vehicle’s driver’s side window, his body facing the SUV, before slumping to the ground a second later.

“Shots fired!” a female voice can be heard yelling.

Based on the video alone, it appears unclear who fired the fatal shot or why it was fired.

After Crutcher is hit, footage shows his limp and bloodied body lying on the roadway beside his vehicle. Officers appear to wait more than a minute before approaching Crutcher while he bleeds in the street.

“It was reported that Terence died at the hospital, that is not true,” said Demario Solomon Simmons, one of the attorneys for Crutcher’s family. “Terence died on that street by himself.”

On Sunday, police released the names of the officers involved. Officer Betty Shelby, who has been with the force since 2011, fired her service weapon, and officer Tyler Turnbough, who was hired in 2009, deployed his Taser, police said. Both officers were placed on administrative leave with pay.

Police showed the video to Crutcher’s family Sunday afternoon, and then to a group of local community leaders and ministers.

The Crutcher family and their attorneys were particularly angered by audio recordings of the responding officers, in which one officer describes Crutcher as a “bad dude.”

“We’re truly devastated. The entire family is devastated,” said Tiffany Crutcher, the slain man’s twin sister. “That big bad dude was a father, that big bad dude was a son, that big bad dude was enrolled at Tulsa Community College just wanting to make us all proud, that big bad dude loved God, that big bad dude was in church singing with all of his flaws every week.”

Crutcher said her family’s demand is for the “incompetent” officer who killed her brother to be charged immediately.

She recalled celebrating her and her brother’s recent 40th birthday, on Aug. 16. On that day, Crutcher texted her to promise that he would complete his community college classes.

“I have his text message, and it said: I’m going to show you. I’m going to make you all proud,” she said. “And now he’ll never get that chance.”

Ray Owens, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church, was one of the the ministers shown the video before its public release and said the images were even worse than expected.

“I didn’t expect the video to be this troubling, but it is troubling,” Owens said. “The officer who shot and killed Terence said he refused to show his hands. The video footage, however, shows him with hands in the air, he walks away from the police at a slow pace, leans against the car, and that is when he was shot.”

Owens said that the group of leaders gathered in the room were shocked by what they had seen, especially because it appeared that officers did not render aid to the dying man for more than a minute after he was shot.

“We asked questions of the police officers and the chief of police, who was there,” Owens said. “And there didn’t seem to be a real good explanation for why police would not have rendered medical aid for so long.”

“He needed help, he needed a hand. And what he got was a bullet in the lungs,” said Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney who has represented the families of the slain in many high-profile police shootings.

Crump compared the shooting to that of Jonathan Ferrell in North Carolina and Corey Jones in Florida, both cases which began with a black man having his car break down only to end up shot dead by an officer.

“What was Terence Crutcher’s crime?” Crump asked. “When unarmed people of color break down on the side of the road, we’re not treated as citizens needing help, we’re treated as criminals, as suspects.”

For Tulsa, Friday’s shooting is the second time in as many years that the police have been involved in a controversial, high-profile shooting that was captured on video. This year, 74-year-old Robert Bates, a wealthy insurance executive who was a reserve Tulsa deputy, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter by a jury after he was caught on camera killing an unarmed black man fleeing police.

In April, jurors only needed three hours to find Bates guilty. His lawyer blamed “negative press” for the verdict.

The insurance executive had pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of Eric Harris, the unarmed black man he shot and killed during an undercover operation April 2, 2015. Moments after shooting Harris, Bates could be heard on camera claiming that he shot Harris after mistakenly reaching for his gun instead of his taser at the end of a foot race.

According to the Tulsa World, Bates’s lawyer called a psychiatrist to testify that Bates “mistakenly shooting Harris was reasonable given the stress of the situation, and before closing arguments jurors were instructed on the statutory requirements for ‘excusable homicide.’ ” Jurors didn’t buy the argument, agreeing with prosecutors after the 1 1/2-week trial that Bates was guilty of criminal negligence.

Andre Harris, the brother of the slain man, said four years in prison would “teach [Bates] a lesson,” the newspaper reported. “That place ain’t that nice,” Andre Harris told reporters. “He said he hopes Bates learns that all lives matter, and he said Bates should not have been on a drug task force chasing supposedly deadly criminals,” the newspaper reported. “Not at 73.”

Medusa

09-20-2016, 09:27 AM

The Terence Crutcher video has been popping up on my Facebook feed all morning.

They shot that man in cold blood. In the back. With his hands in the air. As he walked away from them.

I am sick to my stomach.

Cin

09-20-2016, 11:12 AM

There were zero police officers convicted when charged with murder or manslaughter of citizens while on duty in 2015. ZERO. To my knowledge that number is still zero. I have not been able to find any police officer convicted when charged of murder or manslaughter while on duty as of yet in 2016. It's possible I just have not been able to find a record of it in 2016 and somewhere, somehow a cop was held accountable, but I'm not aware of it and I know for a fact no accountability in 2015. It is so disturbing I have found myself too angry to read about this sometimes. It is really alarming that the police kill someone every 8 hours. There were 1207 people killed by the police in 2015 and so far as of September 20 there were 837. Are Americans that dangerous a people that even unarmed, they need to be shot dead in the streets every 8 hours? To my knowledge there is no reliable data kept federally regarding police killings. Many are not even reported. The Washington Post started keeping track of fatal shootings by police, the Guardian started keeping track of all deaths at the hands of police regardless of the weapon or means and there is a website, Fatal Encounters, that keeps track also. It seems really sketchy to me that there is no public record of deaths of citizens by police officers. Here is another website called killedbypolice.net that keeps track if you have the stomach for it http://www.killedbypolice.net/

I want to thank Nat for starting this thread and Anya and the others who post articles here, but most of all I want to give a shout out to Andrea for her unflinching dedication to this issue. It is not an easy thing. Thanks Andrea!

Andrea

09-20-2016, 02:09 PM

An Inmate Died Of Thirst In A Jail Run By A Loudly Pro-Trump Sheriff

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/david-clarke-jail-death-terrill-thomas_us_57e03580e4b04a1497b5f12e (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/david-clarke-jail-death-terrill-thomas_us_57e03580e4b04a1497b5f12e)

Authorities have ruled the death of an inmate at a jail run by a top law enforcement supporter of GOP nominee Donald Trump a homicide caused by “profound dehydration.”

Terrill Thomas, 38, was found dead in a Milwaukee County Jail cell on April 24, nine days after being arrested in connection with a shooting. Other inmates heard Thomas beg for water in the days before he died, the Journal Sentinel reported in July.

The Huffington Post has been tracking jail deaths ― more than 800 ― in the year since Sandra Bland died in a Texas jail on July 13, 2015.

Last week the Milwaukee County medical examiner announced that Thomas’ death was due to profound dehydration, according to the Journal Sentinel. By labeling the death a homicide, the medical examiner indicated that it was caused by the actions of another person, although that judgment does not necessarily mean that anyone will be criminally prosecuted in the case.

The Milwaukee County Jail is run by Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., an outspoken Trump supporter and critic of the Black Lives Matter movement. Clarke, who is technically a Democrat, has become popular in conservative circles in recent years for his specific criticism of President Barack Obama and more general critiques of liberalism. A recent disclosure form revealed that Clarke took in more than $150,000 in speaking fees, travel reimbursements and gifts in 2015.

Inmates told the Journal Sentinel that the water in Thomas’ cell had been shut off for six days, and one inmate allegedly said to a guard, “If something happens to that man, it’s your fault.”

“No one should ever die of dehydration. It just should never happen,” Erik J. Heipt, a lawyer for the Thomas family, told The Huffington Post.

Heipt, who has represented the families of a number of individuals who lost their lives in jail, said dehydration deaths were relatively rare. He pointed to a lawsuit involving a 25-year-old man who died of dehydration and malnutrition in a Island County Jail in Washington state, which was settled for $4 million last year.

“They may well have had reason to turn off the water. There absolutely could be reasons why you’d want to turn off someone’s water in their cell. But to then not give them drinking water? That’s crazy,” Heipt said. “To make a human being die of thirst, where they have no ability to get their own water for survival, that’s pretty inhumane. It doesn’t get much worse than that.”

Heipt said he has received calls from other former inmates of the Milwaukee County Jail who said the water to their cells had been cut off, too. In fact, another inmate, Antonio Cowser, died in 2011 after water to his cell was turned off.

“They could have gave him some water,” Thomas’ mother Celia told the Journal Sentinel.

Clarke’s office issued a press release stating that it will not be commenting on the death until all investigations, as well as any civil lawsuits, have ended

The Huffington Post is continuing to collect information on jail deaths that took place in the year after Bland died. Her family recently reached a settlement with Texas authorities in connection with her death.

Andrea

09-22-2016, 11:00 AM

Man dies 3 days after allegedly fighting with Baltimore County police in Middle River

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-co-police-fight-20160920-story.html# (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-co-police-fight-20160920-story.html#)

A 21-year-old Baltimore County man died Wednesday, days after police say he struggled with several police officers in Middle River.

Tawon Boyd was injured in the confrontation Sunday morning, authorities said, but they did not provide details. An attorney for Boyd’s family said his kidneys and heart failed.

An autopsy is to be performed to determine the cause of death, authorities said, and the county police and fire departments are conducting internal investigations.

Police say officers who were called to the first block of Akin Circle in Middle River just after 3 a.m. Sunday arrived at a chaotic scene. They said Boyd’s girlfriend had called 911 and said he was acting “crazy.”

Officers said they found Boyd “confused and paranoid, sweating heavily.”

Boyd tried to run to different police cars and get inside and was banging on neighbors’ doors, according to police and his grandmother.
Tawon Boyd

Tawon Boyd, a 21-year-old Baltimore County man, has died after allegedly fighting with police in Middle River early Sunday morning. This image shows Boyd in the hospital after the incident. (Family photo via WJZ / Handout)

Linda Burch, Boyd’s grandmother, lived with the couple and their toddler son on Akin Circle. She said Boyd “was acting kind of strange, like he was on something.”

But she said police used too much force to restrain him.

“He was just hollering and screaming on the ground, and they just kept pushing him down, pushing him down, on his shoulder and back and stuff, hitting him,” Burch said. “He was trying to get them off of him.”

Burch said she and Boyd’s girlfriend were afraid he would be seriously hurt.

“I kept telling them stop before they hurt him because I told them they could kill him like that,” she said. “They told me to go across the street before they lock me up.”

Police said Boyd resisted arrest. They said three officers who restrained Boyd were injured. One wrote in a police report that he punched Boyd twice because Boyd was hanging onto him.

The officers said they were able to finally restrain Boyd by holding him down with their arms and body weight.

Medics were called and administered something to Boyd, but the treatment was redacted in the police report, and police officials said medical privacy laws prevented them from releasing it.

Boyd calmed down, police said, and an officer asked a medic to check his pulse. Boyd was still breathing and had a heartbeat as he was loaded into an ambulance, police said.

“Mr. Boyd was in need of medical attention, and the police responded with violence,” said Latoya Francis-Williams, the family’s attorney. “The police beat him into intensive care, and now he’s no longer with us.”

Andrea

09-22-2016, 06:30 PM

Cops Pepper-Spray Girl Who Fell Off Bike

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/22/video-white-cops-pepper-spray-black-girl-after-she-falls-off-her-bike.html (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/22/video-white-cops-pepper-spray-black-girl-after-she-falls-off-her-bike.html)

When a teenage girl riding her bike collided with a car, cops didn’t simply take her to the hospital but instead handcuffed her, pepper sprayed her, and threw her in the back of their squad car.

A bystander’s cell phone footage shows the 15-year-old girl from Hagerstown, Maryland being loaded into a police car Sunday. At this point the girl, a minor whose name is being withheld, ask to speak with “Zack,” an officer she says is black, unlike her arresting officers who are white. Then, while the girl is handcuffed in the back of the car, police are seen firing pepper spray at her through the window.

“I can’t breathe!” the girl screams.

Instead of taking the girl to the hospital like they initially told her, police took her to the police station for interrogation. But her lawyer said she never should have been in the squad car in the first place.

“She was flipped over in the air, came down hard on the pavement, was motionless there for at least 30 seconds,” attorney Robin Ficker told The Daily Beast. “Then she recovered, woke up and the ambulance came. She did not want to go with the strangers in the ambulance, she wanted to go to her home nearby. She got on her bike, started peddling away to go home, and a huge officer grabbed her off her bike without any warning whatsoever from behind.”

Body camera footage released by the Hagerstown Police shows the girl refusing to go with polic before an officer grabs her backpack. Then she is handcuffed and pushed against a brick wall while bystanders gather. “You let that badge go to your head,” one onlooker tells an officer.

While the officers had allegedly arrived on the scene to take the girl to the hospital, they began referring to her in criminal terms.

“We’re detaining you for incooperation with an investigation,” one officer says while the girl is forcibly cuffed.

Hagerstown Police told The Daily Beast that they were simultaneously investigating the girl’s bike crash while attempting to take her to the hospital.

“The reason she was placed in custody, is first and foremost we were investigating an accident she was involved in,” Hagerstown Police Captain Paul Kifer told The Daily Beast. “She attempted to leave on a bicycle … she refused to give ay info on who she was.”

Even if the officers had wanted to take her to the hospital, they had no legal grounds for doing so forcibly, Ficker said.

“They said ‘you have to come in, you can’t refuse treatment.’ Well there’s no Maryland law that says you can’t refuse treatment,” he told The Daily Beast. “They certainly don’t arrest every Jehovah’s Witness that refuses treatment. There’s no law that says you can’t refuse treatment.”

When bystanders began arguing with police, an officer used the girl’s age to justify her arrest, saying that she could not refuse treatment as a minor.

“What happens when she’s like ‘I’m fine,’ and has a brain injury afterwards?” an officer says when an onlooker filming the event asks why the girl is being arrested. “She could die later … all we want to do is make sure she’s okay.”

Kifer said the girl’s detention was standard procedure.

“We’re not gonna let her go until she’s released to a parent or guardian,” he told The Daily Beast. “If we let her go and she goes around the corner and has an aneurism and dies, that’s on us.”

But Ficker said the force of the girl’s arrest contradicts the police argument that she required urgent treatment.

“Well if someone may have brain damage, why are you slamming her against a wall? Why are you putting her in a police car,” he said, “without a seatbelt, I might add, in violation of police policy.”

Even after police seat the handcuffed girl in the squad car, she refuses to pull her feet into the vehicle, body camera footage shows. Police fire pepper spray at her face from close range and slam the door while she is coughing and screaming. The car pulls away while the girl is still shouting and crying.

But police did not take her to a hospital, Ficker said. Instead, the girl was transported to the police station, where she was interrogated and charged with disorderly conduct, two counts of second degree assault, possession of marijuana and failure to obey a traffic device.

Ficker contends that the “flake” of marijuana found in the girl’s backpack was planted by police, a claim police adamantly deny.

“I categorically deny that,” Kifer said. “It’s absurd and offensive for an attorney to accuse law enforcement of planting anything.”

Police did not return a request for a copy of the arrest report. But Ficker says the official reason for the girl’s arrest, as listed in her medical report was not criminal at all.

“Police told the hospital that the reason she was arrested was not because she was refusing treatment, but because she wouldn’t give insurance information,” Ficker said. “Insurance was never mentioned, and furthermore, who expects a kid on a bike to have insurance information?”

“It’s ridiculous,” he added. “These cops are lying.”

Andrea

09-23-2016, 04:56 AM

Three Phoenix police officers resign after being accused of forcing a man to eat marijuana

http://www.businessinsider.com/three-phoenix-police-officers-resign-after-being-accused-of-forcing-a-man-to-eat-marijuana-2016-9 (http://www.businessinsider.com/three-phoenix-police-officers-resign-after-being-accused-of-forcing-a-man-to-eat-marijuana-2016-9)

Three Phoenix police officers have resigned after a man alleged they forced him to eat marijuana found in his vehicle to avoid going to jail, Chief Joseph Yahner said Thursday.

A fourth officer, Jeff Farrior, was demoted from lieutenant to sergeant for being aware of last week's incident and not taking appropriate action, Yahner told reporters.

"Their actions are appalling and unacceptable. This conduct is against everything that we stand for," Yahner said.

Police identified the three officers who quit as Richard G. Pina, Jason E. McFadden and Michael J. Carnicle.

Two of them are being investigated both criminally and by the department, Yahner said, adding that the third officer is considered a witness to the act and is the subject of just the administrative investigation.

Yahner said all of the officers' video cameras were turned off and did not record the incident in which a 19-year-old Phoenix man was stopped for a traffic violation around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 13. The man, whose name was not released by police, was issued a citation and had his car towed.

He later told a patrol supervisor that the officers demanded he eat the marijuana, estimated to be about a gram, or go to jail.

The man reported feeling ill after ingesting the marijuana of an unknown potency, but didn't need any medical attention, a police spokesman said.

Yahner called the allegations about the officers' actions "disturbing and upsetting."

The three officers who quit were all in their first year with Phoenix police and were probationary employees, according to Yahner.

"I was going to fire them. They chose to resign," he said.

Yahner declined to discuss details of the criminal and internal investigations.

Andrea

09-27-2016, 09:16 PM

Caught on Camera: Texas Transit Cop Resigns After Train Station Beating

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/caught-camera-texas-transit-cop-resigns-after-train-station-beating-n654821 (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/caught-camera-texas-transit-cop-resigns-after-train-station-beating-n654821)

A Texas transit cop resigned on Monday after a train station camera captured the officer repeatedly beating a man with a baton two weeks ago, authorities said.

Metro Police Department Chief Vera Bumpers said in a statement that a review board concluded that the officer, identified only as J. Warren, used excessive force in the Sept. 14 encounter.

"The board recommended termination of the officer," Bumpers said. "Officer Warren, however, presented his resignation before that action could be taken."

Video footage published by NBC affiliate KPRC showed two officers approaching a man slumped over on a platform bench at Burnett Transit Center, north of downtown Houston.

The station identified the man as Darren Giles, 31.

In the two-and-a-half-minute silent video, Warren can be seen attempting rouse Giles while a second officer looked through a cooler that sat beside him. When Giles stood up, Warren struck him repeatedly for approximately eight seconds.

As Giles writhed on the platform floor — and as the two officers restrained him — Warren struck him two more times.

Giles was charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass, KPRC reported, though those were later dropped.

The second officer, Daniel Reynoso, will return to duty after additional training, Bumpers said.

"This incident is not reflective of our police force and I will not tolerate inappropriate use of force by officers," she said.

JDeere

09-27-2016, 09:23 PM

Andrea

10-02-2016, 02:22 PM

Cop violently arrests a man for sitting on his own porch while body cam is on

http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article105525491.html (http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article105525491.html)

A Greensboro police officer was stripped of his law enforcement credentials last week, after the release of police body camera footage that showed him violently arresting a man for sitting on his own porch.

Police body cameras have been in the news in Charlotte, involving the fatal shooting by a police officer of Keith Lamont Scott.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Friday night that it will release more than two hours of video footage of the scene of Scott’s shooting, a reversal from the agency’s previous stance.

In a statement, police spokesman Rob Tufano said the department will honor a request from Scott’s family to make public all dashcam and body camera footage that CMPD has obtained at the Sept. 20 shooting.

Police will allow the family to view the footage sometime next week, before providing it to the public, Tufano said. The statement did not specify what day or time.

In the Greensboro case, Dejuan Yourse was waiting for his mother to arrive to let him into his home on June 17, when two officers were dispatched to investigate a possible break-in, the Huffington Post reported.

On the video from a police body camera, Yourse is seen trying to phone his mom so she can speak to the officers. He gives the officers his ID and suggests the officers ask a neighbor to verify that he lives there.

Officer Travis Cole soon places his hands on Yourse’s chest to stop him from walking away, according to the Huffington Post. After Yourse sits back down, Cole takes Yourse’s phone from his hand, throws him to the floor and struggles to handcuff him.. Yourse keeps asking Cole why he’s punching him. When Cole yells, “I’m going to hit you again,” Yourse yells back, “Why?”

The Greensboro City Council voted unanimously last week to strip Cole of his law enforcement credentials. The district attorney refused the council’s request to file criminal charges against the officer, saying he wouldn’t “rehash the same evidence,” the Greensboro News & Record reported.

Police had charged Yourse with resisting arrest and assault on government officials. The charges were dropped when Cole resigned in August. The second officer quit her job last week, the Huffington Post reported.

Andrea

10-06-2016, 06:52 AM

‘I Can’t Breathe’: Disturbing Video Shows Father Of Four Begging Guards For Help Before He Died In Jail

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-sabbie-jail-deaths-bi-state-jail-bowie-county_us_57f2ab41e4b024a52d304102?bns (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-sabbie-jail-deaths-bi-state-jail-bowie-county_us_57f2ab41e4b024a52d304102?bns)

“I can’t breathe.”

Michael Sabbie ― a 35-year-old stay-at-home father of four ― said it after five guards piled on top of him inside the Bi State Jail, a facility that sits directly on the border between Texas and Arkansas and is run by a for-profit company.

“I can’t breathe.” Sabbie ― who packed his kids’ lunches, drove them to and from school, and carted them around to their after-school activities ― said it again after a sixth officer pepper-sprayed him as he lay on the concrete floor.

“I can’t breathe, sir. Please! Please!” Sabbie ― who wrote a Facebook post thanking God for his kids just hours before his arrest ― said it again as guards held him up against a wall outside of the nurse’s station.

“I can’t breathe,” Sabbie said again after he was forced into the shower. “I can’t breathe,” Sabbie repeated, echoing the final words of another black father, 43-year-old Eric Garner, who died in New York in July 2014 as the result of an officer’s illegal chokehold.

A guard threatened to pepper-spray Sabbie again. “I’m sorry,” Sabbie said, hoping to avoid being hit with painful chemical agent a second time. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Then Sabbie collapsed. The guards, paid a starting rate of $10 an hour, apparently thought he was faking it. They took him to a cell.

“Can’t breathe,” Sabbie said as guards removed his handcuffs and left him on the floor of the cell overnight. Sabbie, who at that point had been in custody for roughly 48 hours, was dead by the morning.

The basic details of Sabbie’s death, one of more than 800 jail deaths counted by The Huffington Post in the year after Sandra Bland died in jail on July 13, 2015, wouldn’t normally raise much suspicion. The initial news reports said that Sabbie, who was arrested on a domestic assault charge, was found “unresponsive” on the morning of July 22, 2015, suggesting he died in his sleep. A medical examiner ― noting Sabbie’s obesity and that he had significant heart muscle damage ― deemed his death “natural,” a label that implies it was an unavoidable tragedy. Those circumstances wouldn’t make Sabbie’s death terribly unique: Heart disease killed an average of 226 jail inmates a year from 2000 until 2013, making it the leading cause of jail deaths after suicides.

But calling Sabbie’s death “natural” obscures more than it illuminates, and would hide the failures that very likely could have prevented his death. A quick internal investigation might have absolved jail employees of any wrongdoing. But in Sabbie’s case, there’s video.

“If you just looked at the cause of death, you would think that Michael died of some sort of hypertensive heart condition, and that may be true,” said Erik J. Heipt, one of the attorneys representing the Sabbie family. “But if we didn’t have a video, we’d never know that he had been begging for help due to his shortness of breath and inability to breathe. We’d never know that he said ‘I can’t breathe’ 19 times in the nine minutes that we hear in that video.”

Heipt and his law partner, Edwin Budge, regularly represent families of individuals who have died in jails across the country. But this video is “without a doubt among one of the most outrageous,” Budge said.

“Clearly he’s a person in a state of medical crisis, in medical need, asking for help, and the response to his essentially pleas for medical help is inhumane, which is a term I don’t use lightly,” Budge said.

Preventable deaths being labeled as “natural” is a “common phenomenon” and a “huge problem” in jails across the country, said David C. Fathi, the director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project.

“We often find that someone’s death is characterized as ‘natural causes’ ― maybe it was cancer, maybe it was heart disease,” Fathi said. “But if you look at the medical record, you often find egregious neglect and denial of care. If someone dies of cancer that went totally untreated, is that death from natural causes?”

Sabbie was arrested on July 19, 2015, after getting into an argument with his wife over money, according to a police report. Sabbie’s wife told an officer that he threatened her before getting out of the car and walking away. Another officer located Sabbie, who denied threatening his wife. Due to the alleged threat, Sabbie was arrested for third-degree assault on a household or family member, a misdemeanor.

Sabbie was taken to the Bi State Jail, a facility with 164 beds that housed 134 individuals as of this week. The for-profit company LaSalle Corrections has run the facility since 2013, when a previous company backed out because it reportedly could not turn a profit. Governments pay just $39.50 per day to house inmates at the Bi State lockup and $46.50 per day to place them at the Bowie County facility, a nearby facility LaSalle Corrections also runs. (The company that backed out of the previous contract submitted a competing bid of $56.25 per inmate per day.) Under the contract with Bowie County, LaSalle Corrections absorbs the cost of medical services and also indemnifies the county against any claims from inmates or their families.

The Bowie County facility has agreements with local surrounding counties to house their inmates, which the Bowie County Sheriff has said “helps us to lower the costs” of detaining the county’s own detainees, and jail revenue is “one of the largest portions of Bowie County’s budget,” according to a local news report. A job listing for a position at the Bowie County Correctional Center says pay is $10 per hour, and that the position requires “zero experience as a correctional officer.” As of this July, the facilities were reportedly shorthanded and seeking to fill dozens of positions.

With a population of just 134, the Bi State Jail is one of the smallest jails in the country that had two reported deaths in The Huffington Post’s jail deaths project, which looked at deaths between July 13, 2015, and July 13, 2016. There were two additional deaths at the nearby Bowie County Correctional Center, which has 748 beds and a population of 674 as of this week. Together, the LaSalle facilities had four deaths in a single year, with a joint population of just 808. Other jails that reported four deaths in the year HuffPost examined had populations double, triple and even quadruple that.

Matthew Campbell, who is representing the family of another inmate who died in the Bi State Jail, said the facility is “by far the least secure jail” he’s ever been in. He said he was able to walk in with a briefcase without being searched or showing identification.

“The guy behind the big glass window doesn’t have me sign in, doesn’t ask for ID. There’s no metal detector, he doesn’t check my bag, buzzes me into the attorney meeting room,” Campbell said. “It could have been a briefcase full of cocaine and guns, and I could have left it there in the room and nobody would have been any the wiser.”

At about 3:30 a.m. on July 20, less than 12 hours after his arrest, Sabbie told jail staff he was having difficulty breathing and could not breathe while lying down. A nurse treated him for a low level of oxygen in his blood, and advised him to sit up if he had trouble breathing.

The next day, July 21 at 10:30 a.m., Sabbie was found on the floor of his cell and taken to the nurse’s station. He said once again that he couldn’t breathe and that he believed he had pneumonia. But a nurse cleared him to go back to his cell, which frustrated Sabbie. “So [y’all] aren’t going to help?” he asked, according to police records. He began walking back to his cell, but fell on the floor on his way back and required assistance. The nurse, Tiffany Venable, said she had seen no signs or symptoms of pneumonia during the morning appointment. She told an investigator she completed a medical form for this visit, but believed she placed it in the wrong file.

Sabbie had a court appearance that afternoon, during which he pleaded not guilty and had his bond set at $2,500. A court bailiff said he observed Sabbie “sweating very heavily and coughing.” The judge also saw that Sabbie was having trouble breathing, and suggested Sabbie might have asthma or bronchitis. Sabbie said in court that he had been spitting up blood and needed to go to the hospital.

After the court appearance, Sabbie and a group of other detainees were taken back to the jail at about 4:15 p.m. This is where the video kicks in, and we see that Sabbie stopped to lean against a wall.

Officer Clint Brown walked over to Sabbie. Brown claimed Sabbie wanted to use the phone in the booking desk, but Brown said he had to go back to his cell. He claimed Sabbie turned aggressively toward him, so he grabbed him. Other officers soon assisted.

Lt. Nathaniel Johnson, who earlier in the day had taken Sabbie to the nurse because he had difficulty breathing, pepper-sprayed Sabbie directly in the face, just as he said, “I can’t breathe.”

Venable, the nurse who saw Sabbie earlier in the morning and had been on duty since 5 a.m., witnessed the guards use force against Sabbie, and then evaluated him briefly in her office. She didn’t fill out a form, but said she believed his complaints were a normal reaction to pepper spray.

“Ms. Venable said she wanted to get off work on time because she had to get her daughter to a pitching lesson,” one police report states. “She said she was going to complete one this morning when she came into work but learned that Mr. Sabbie had passed away.”

Heipt, one of the lawyers for the Sabbie family, said they believe that Sabbie had pulmonary edema, or excess fluid in his lungs caused by a heart condition. It’s a medical emergency, but treatable and should have been detected with a proper evaluation, Heipt said. The State Crime Laboratory’s Medical Examiner Division found that Sabbie died of “hypertensive arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” and claimed that the altercation “played a minimal role in the decedent’s death, and may not have contributed at all to his death.”

Correctional Officer Simone Nash was charged with keeping an eye on Sabbie overnight. She was required to do cell safety checks on all her pods and cells every 30 minutes, as well as a count four times each shift. Although her records indicated that the guard did those 30-minute checks, she admitted that “not all the checks were done and they were only documented,” according to a Texarkana Police report. Nash admitted she “didn’t consistently enter and check the cells inside the pods during every one of the 30 minute checks” as required, according to the report. During her counts, she said that while Sabbie never responded to her during the counts, she claims she saw him breathing.

LaSalle Corrections employees were still not conducting proper face-to-face observations on July 18, 2016, nearly a year after Sabbie’s death, according to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which performed the inspection after the July 1, 2016, death of Morgan Angerbauer. Twenty-year-old Angerbauer, whose family is represented by Campbell, was diabetic, and jail nurse Brittany Johnson was arrested in August and charged with negligent homicide in connection with her death. (In a similar case, a former Oklahoma guard was indicted on a federal civil rights charge this week for allegedly ignoring the medical needs of a diabetic detainee who died in 2013. It is rare for corrections officials to face such charges for exhibiting “deliberate indifference” to the medical needs of inmates.)

Heipt, who is also representing the family of a man who died of thirst in a jail run by prominent Donald Trump supporter and Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, said it’s only recently that there has been public attention on jail deaths. Local media outlets sometimes only cover a “sham investigation” conducted by local officials investigating themselves before moving on.

“This is not a tin-foil hat conspiracy; it happens all the time,” Heipt said. “The jail or the county investigates itself, inmates aren’t interviewed, medical records are not reviewed, video recordings are lost or destroyed, and medical examiners who are in charge of determining the cause of death are not given complete information, and so the cause of death is either undetermined, wrong, or doesn’t tell the whole picture.

“The American public has no idea what’s taking place, and because of the lack of public awareness, there’s a corresponding lack of public outrage,” he added. “So politicians on the local and national level have ignored it. Consequently, jails are understaffed and underfunded, money is saved by denying medications and medical care. Funding issues also lead to inexperienced and unqualified corrections officers being hired, as well as a lack of training.”

Sabbie was “cold to the touch” when guards eventually entered his cell, according to documents. The voicemail of the warden, Robert Page, was full when HuffPost reached out for comment this week. He did not respond to a message left with an employee, nor did an official at LaSalle Corrections’ corporate office in Texas.

In a statement, the Sabbie family said they “cannot conceive of how something like this could happen to an American citizen” like Sabbie.

“He was treated as if his life did not matter,” the family said in a statement issued through their lawyers. “Most of all they want justice and accountability and to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

“I can’t put into words how devastated my children and I are after the loss of Michael,” Sabbie’s wife Teresa said in a statement. “He was my backbone and best friend. My children lost a wonderful father who wanted the best for his family. A piece of our heart is gone, and I pray to God for justice. This was a tragedy that should never have happened.”

The Department of Justice informed Teresa on Aug. 1, 2016, that it would not be prosecuting anyone in connection with her husband’s death.

“After careful consideration, we concluded that the evidence does not establish a prosecutable violation of the federal criminal civil rights statutes,” Paige Fitzgerald, acting principal deputy chief of the criminal section of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, wrote in the letter. “Please accept or [sic] condolences on your lost [sic].”

*Anya*

10-06-2016, 09:35 AM

zaD84DTGULo

Andrea

10-10-2016, 01:24 PM

A black 17-year-old reported his stolen car using LoJack ... and police reportedly arrested him instead

http://www.chron.com/technology/businessinsider/article/A-black-17-year-old-reported-his-stolen-car-using-9397893.php (http://www.chron.com/technology/businessinsider/article/A-black-17-year-old-reported-his-stolen-car-using-9397893.php)

Race-relations between the police and black citizens is a huge topic of conversation in America right now.

Athletes are refusing to stand for the national anthem in protest over police killings of unarmed black men, the presidential candidates were asked about the issue in their debate on Monday. And on Tuesday, police near San Diego fatally shot another unarmed black man within minutes of responding to a mental-health-related call.

With this subject in mind, we bring you this story of what an ordinary black family can face when they need the police.

Take for example this series of tweets from by Tristan Riddell, who is best known for his Nerd Party network podcasts The Senate Floor and Nerd Nuptial. For his day job, he works as a videographer/video editor at Northwestern University.

"One of my favorite students had his car stolen last night. He's a 17 year old black male. Thought it would be a good idea to call the cops.

Groceries in hand he checks his LoJack app first and can see that its moving down the road. Cops arrive and immediately frisk him.

They ask him if he's on drugs. He tries to tell them that he just wants his car back.

He shows them on his phone exactly where his car is. They don't believe him so they put him in the squad car and take him in. They process him and take his fingerprints.

He gets to call his mom and she raises hell. After a long time they let him go."

They then allow him to go get his car and the window is broken in. It was exactly where the app said."

This never would have happened to me because I'm white. He called the cops asking for help and got treated like a criminal.

Just because he's black and could afford a fancy car."

We reached out to the student who has, so far, not responded to our questions. Riddell has not revealed his identity nor said what city and police department where this occurred, except to reveal that it happened in Illinois.

It seems likely it was in or near Chicago because Northwestern is located in the Chicago suburb of Evanston (though we have no evidence that the incident took place there).

Andrea

10-14-2016, 09:02 AM

Phoenix Woman Removes Handcuffs And Hangs Herself Inside Police Van, Authorities Say

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/phoenix-woman-suicide-police-van_us_58009c43e4b06e047594281c? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/phoenix-woman-suicide-police-van_us_58009c43e4b06e047594281c?)

A woman arrested in Phoenix for domestic violence and assaulting a police officer slipped out of her handcuffs and hung herself with a shoelace from a vent in the back of a police van, authorities said on Thursday.

The woman was rushed to hospital unconscious after the officers driving the van tried to revive her, but she was not expected to survive, a Phoenix police statement said.

It did not give her name or race.

The woman was being taken to jail after being arrested early on Wednesday and was the only person in the back of the van, the statement said. An investigation into the incident had begun.

Last year, Sandra Bland, an African-American woman, was found dead with a trash bag around her neck in her cell at a jail in Waller County, Texas, where she was arrested at a traffic stop. Authorities said her death was a suicide.

The case sparked protests and raised questions about whether she was jailed and mistreated because of her race.

A committee this year recommended sweeping changes for Waller County jails, including better mental health screening.

Andrea

10-19-2016, 09:11 AM

New York police officer fatally shoots 66-year-old woman

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/19/us/new-york-police-shoot-women/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/19/us/new-york-police-shoot-women/index.html)

A New York City police officer shot and killed a 66-year-old woman while responding to a call at a Bronx apartment, police officials said Wednesday.
Officers went to the Pugsley Avenue apartment around 6 p.m. Tuesday after a neighbor called 911 about an "emotionally disturbed person," Assistant Chief Larry W. Nikunen said.

A sergeant entered the seventh-floor apartment and encountered the woman, who was armed with scissors, but he persuaded her to put them down, Nikunen said.

The woman grabbed a baseball bat and attempted to strike the sergeant, Nikunen said. The officer fired two shots, striking the woman in the torso, he said. She died of her injuries after being taken to Jacobi Medical Center.

The officer was armed with a Taser, but it was not deployed, Nikunen said.
The reason it was not deployed and whether it was necessary for the sergeant to open fire will be a part of the investigation by the New York police's Force Investigation Division, Nikunen said.

The woman was identified as Deborah Danner, said Thomas Antonetti of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. She was a 66-year-old black female who lived alone, Nikunen said.

The officer has not been named, but Nikunen said he is a white male and an eight-year veteran of the police department. Antonetti said the officer is on "modified assignment" that requires he be stripped of his gun and badge pending the investigation.

Nikunen said that the New York police has a history of responding to this apartment for similar disturbances.

"There have been several instances with this individual with similar types of calls," Nikunen said, adding he did not have the details on those earlier incidents.

Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: "We're determined to get to the bottom of what happened and won't rest until we do."

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. issued a statement calling the shooting "an outrage, especially given the New York Police Department's knowledge of this woman's history and the police officer's possession of a stun gun."

"While I certainly understand the hard work that our police officers undertake to keep the streets of our city safe every single day, I also know what excessive force looks like."

Diaz called on New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark to investigate.

New York City Public Advocate Letitia James tweeted, "Police-involved shooting of woman in Bronx is concerning. We need a swift, thorough, transparent (investigation)."

The killing comes after protests in recent years over fatal police shootings of black people in cities such as Charlotte, North Carolina, and Ferguson, Missouri. Protesters have been demanding justice and an end to police brutality.

Eugene O'Donnell, professor of law and police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told CNN that these situations are "all too common and all too predictable."

But the shooting appeared to be legally justified, he said.

O'Donnell said that ideally, mentally unstable individuals should be protected and overseen to make sure they stay on their medications.

He said the New York Police Department has specially trained officers for these types of incidents, but the officers who initially respond usually don't have that training.

"Anyone who says this was a Taser situation doesn't understand what the police do," he said. "A baseball bat can cause death or serious physical injury, and a Taser is not appropriate in a deadly force situation."

Andrea

10-20-2016, 09:32 AM

Agawam fires 3 city cops in connection with 'use of force' incident at police HQs

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/10/agawam_fires_3_city_cops_for.html (http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/10/agawam_fires_3_city_cops_for.html)

Mayor Richard A. Cohen has fired three Agawam officers who were suspended in connection with a "use of force" incident at police headquarters.

City officials have yet to release details of the June 19 incident, which involves allegations that the officers assaulted a male suspect who was in their custody. The officers — Sgt. Anthony Grasso, Edward Connor and John Moccio — were terminated on Wednesday, according to Agawam Police Chief Eric P. Gillis.

"The men and women of the Agawam Police Department serve this community with honor and distinction every day, and both Mayor Cohen and I stand firmly beside them," Gillis said. "We will continue to work hard to maintain a level of trust with our citizens, and we fervently hope that this incident will not interfere with those efforts."

The officers were placed on paid administrative leave in September, pending hearings and the outcomes of internal and external investigations. The case is now in the hands of the district attorney's office, which will determine whether to file criminal charges against the officers.

Attorney John Connor, who represents the officers, said in previous comments to the media that he would appeal any disciplinary actions taken against his clients, who "acted properly" in the incident. Connor could not immediately be reached for comment.

Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen said he takes the allegations "very seriously." The incident, which sparked an internal investigation conducted by an outside agency, is now in the hands of District Attorney Anthony Gulluni.

Legal and law enforcement sources have told The Republican that the officers used excessive force and injured the suspect. The alleged assault was captured by police station cameras, according to officials.

All materials related to the investigation, including audio and video recordings, have been turned over to Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni, who will decide whether to prosecute the officers. A spokesman for Gulluni has declined to comment on the probe.

"We fully expect that this matter will continue forward pursuant to law and established provisions within both of the collective bargaining agreements currently in place," Gillis said of the fired officers, all of whom belong to a union.

Agawam hired APD Management, a Tewksbury firm that handles confidential inquiries on behalf of police departments and municipal governments, to conduct an investigation into the matter. APD's findings were among the materials sent to the district attorney's office.

'They acted properly,' says lawyer for Agawam officers accused of excessive force

"We had an opportunity to present evidence, and that evidence is very clear that they acted properly," said John Connor, the attorney representing the Agawam police officers.

Andrea

10-21-2016, 09:40 AM

Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy no longer employed after using excessive force during domestic dispute

http://kron4.com/2016/10/20/sonoma-county-sheriffs-deputy-no-longer-employed-after-using-excessive-force-during-domestic-dispute/ (http://kron4.com/2016/10/20/sonoma-county-sheriffs-deputy-no-longer-employed-after-using-excessive-force-during-domestic-dispute/)

A Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy who was deemed to have used excessive force during a “non-criminal domestic argument” in Sonoma Valley last month, is no longer employed with the sheriff’s office, a sheriff’s sergeant said Thursday afternoon.

Deputy Scott Thorne, who was hired as a reserve officer in June 2015 and began working full-time in April, used excessive force with his baton and Taser against a husband during the domestic dispute around 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 24.

Sgt. Spencer Crum said the sheriff’s office is prohibited from saying if Thorne was fired or voluntarily left the force. The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Rosa Police Department are conducting an independent criminal investigation into Thorne’s use of force, Crum said.

“He had no probable cause for an arrest and used excessive force using his baton and Taser,” Crum said.

“Sheriff’s Administration felt that the actions of the primary deputy (Thorne) were excessive for the circumstances and were in violation of our use of force policy,” Crum said.

The sheriff’s office’s policy specifically states that use of force by deputies must be reasonable and appropriate for every situation, Crum said.

Thorne and deputies Beau Zastrow and Anthony Diehm responded to a domestic dispute call by a neighbor. A woman at the residence opened the front door and the deputies entered the home.

Diehm interviewed the woman and Thorne and Zastrow went to the back of the home where the husband was locked in a bedroom, Crum said.

According to the sheriff’s office’s account of the incident, Thorne forced open the bedroom door when the husband refused to come out. The husband was lying on a bed and Thorne ordered him to stand up but he refused.

The husband pulled away when Thorne grabbed his arm, and Thorne shot the husband with his Taser but it had little effect. The husband sat up and pulled the Taser wires out, and Thorne then struck the man in the leg with his baton.

Zastrow and Thorne tried to restrain the man in bed and Diehm arrived to assist. The man broke free and ran toward the bedroom door. Thorne struck the man several times with his baton and the man fell to the ground where the struggle continued. Diehm shot his Taser to no effect and three deputies were able to handcuff and arrest the man.

The deputies then determined there had been a non-criminal domestic-related argument between the husband and wife. The husband was taken to a hospital for treatment before he was booked in the Sonoma County Jail at 1:12 a.m. Sept. 25 for threatening an officer, resisting and obstructing an officer and battery on an officer. He was released on $10,000 bail at 2:36 a.m.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office informed the sheriff’s office on Oct. 11 it would not file criminal charges against the husband. The sheriff’s office did an internal review of the incident that included reviewing the video from the deputies’ body-worn cameras, Crum said.

The sheriff’s Administration Office then determined Thorne’s actions violated its excessive force policy, Crum said.

“The Sheriff (Steve Freitas) is deeply concerned over the incident that transpired. We are conducting a thorough investigation of all deputies involved and will take prompt, firm and appropriate actions in this matter.

“We have reached out to the victim in this case and offered our sincere apology. We also want to apologize to our community. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office strives to do our absolute best to provide professional public safety services. This is an isolated incident that we are proactively addressing, and does not reflect the values of the Sheriff’s Office,” Crum said.

Zastrow, who joined the sheriff’s office in September 2013, and Diehm, who started in May 2015, are still on duty. They also are the subject of an internal investigation, Crum said.

“We don’t believe they are a danger to the public,” Crum said.

There were no previous complaints about Thorne before the incident, Crum said.

Sheriff Steve Freitas did not return a call for further comment on the incident late Thursday afternoon.

Andrea

10-22-2016, 09:30 AM

Brown Deer officer charged in shooting

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/10/21/brown-deer-officer-charged-shooting/92508848/ (http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/10/21/brown-deer-officer-charged-shooting/92508848/)

A Brown Deer police officer who shot an unarmed man after removing him from a county bus in March has been charged with aggravated battery with use of a dangerous weapon, a felony, according to a criminal complaint.

The man, Manuel L. Burnley Jr., 26, was face down on the ground when Officer Devon Kraemer shot him in the back, according to the complaint issued Friday.

Charges in police shootings are extremely rare in Wisconsin.

In Milwaukee County, just two officers have been charged in fatal shootings in nearly 50 years, according to legislative research conducted in 2014. Only one of those shootings occurred while the officer was on duty. That research did not quantify charges in nonfatal shootings.

Charges are filed so infrequently in part because officers are authorized to use deadly force if they reasonably believe someone poses a threat to officers or to members of the public.

Kraemer, 27, told authorities she shot Burnley "because she feared for her safety and that of her partner," the complaint says.

But an expert retained by the prosecutor's office, Emanuel Kapelsohn, concluded that while Kraemer may have been afraid, that fear was not objectively reasonable.

"It was Kapelsohn's professional opinion that Kraemer's use of deadly force was not consistent with generally accepted standards for use of force in Wisconsin or nationwide," the complaint says.

According to the complaint:

The incident began when the bus driver flagged down the officers in the 8600 block of N. 60th St. because Burnley was arguing with her. Kraemer boarded the bus and told Burnley to get off, but he refused, using vulgar language and displaying a belligerent attitude. He did not threaten anyone on the bus or suggest he had a weapon.

Kraemer and her partner, Michael Leeman, removed Burnley from the bus. As they took him to the ground, they also fell. The two officers rolled Burnley onto his stomach; he struggled as they tried to handcuff him.

"Kraemer stated that she was unable to gain control of Burnley's left arm, and she drew her firearm, and pressed it against Burnley's back," the complaint says. "She then drew it back a short distance, to avoid a malfunction, and fired once, striking Burnley in the back, then immediately re-holstered her firearm."

After he was shot, Burnley asked what happened and heard Leeman respond by saying, "We just shot you" and using a racial slur, according to a document Burnley's attorney filed as a precursor to a lawsuit. Burnley is African-American; the two officers are white.

Burnley was hospitalized for 12 days and lost part of a lung as a result of the shooting. The bullet remains in his body and he is unable to work, according to his attorney, Jonathan Safran.

"Mr. Burnley is lucky to be alive and not paralyzed from being shot," Safran said Friday.

Kraemer has been placed on administrative leave with pay, according to a statement from Brown Deer Police Chief Michael Kass.

"As with any officer-involved shooting, the Brown Deer Police Department recognized that criminal charges were always a possibility," Kass said in a statement. "We fully understand and accept the need for this high level of scrutiny within the criminal justice system."

Milwaukee police conducted the investigation into the shooting at the request of Brown Deer police.

Brown Deer police had referred Burnley to the district attorney's office, requesting charges related to assaulting the two officers, but prosecutors did not charge him.

Kraemer has five years of experience with Brown Deer police and Leeman has two years with the department.

If convicted, Kraemer faces a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison and $50,000 in fines. She would not be able to continue working in law enforcement since she would no longer be allowed to carry a gun under federal law.

Kraemer is the second police officer to be criminally charged by the Milwaukee County district attorney's office in as many days. On Thursday, Milwaukee Police Officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown, whose shooting of Sylville Smith prompted riots in the Sherman Park neighborhood, was charged with three felonies and two misdemeanors, including off-duty sexual assault. Smith's death remains under investigation.

The shooting of Burnley isn't the first time Brown Deer police training has been called into question in recent years.

In 2012, Brown Deer police officials asked the state Department of Justice for training on how to handle domestic violence situations.

The request came amid sharp criticism in the wake of a shooting at Azana Salon and Spa that resulted in the deaths of three people and the suicide of the gunman. The shooter, Radcliffe Haughton, and his wife, who was among his victims, lived in Brown Deer. Less than two years before the spa shooting, officers saw Haughton point what appeared to be a rifle at his wife. Officers set up a tactical perimeter, told him he was under arrest and ordered him to surrender. He refused. A supervisor ordered officers to leave the scene 90 minutes into the standoff.

At the time, police experts told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that leaving without making an arrest was a breach of basic police protocol and created a risk to the public.

Andrea

10-23-2016, 12:31 PM

‘Hurt Him’

https://www.abqjournal.com/873290/guards-handling-of-problem-inmate-sparks-complaints-from-mdc-medical-staff.html (https://www.abqjournal.com/873290/guards-handling-of-problem-inmate-sparks-complaints-from-mdc-medical-staff.html)

Jail Sgt. Eric Allen gave the order repeatedly: “Hurt him.”

Correctional officers responded by twisting inmate Joe Ray Barela’s handcuffed wrist as he screamed in pain. The officers described it as “pain compliance” needed to control a belligerent prisoner with a long rap sheet and a history of violence.

But it horrified medical staffers who were trying to assess and treat Barela in the emergency room at the Bernalillo County jail, according to county documents released in response to a Journal request for public records.

One nurse called it torture. Two employees were in tears.

“They won’t stop hurting him,” one counselor told a colleague.

And the orders to “hurt” Barela, they said, interfered with their attempts to assess his medical condition.

They told sheriff’s detectives and a private investigator for the county that they think officers used excessive force on Barela and that the incident fueled tension between medical staff and corrections officers inside the massive jail.

Some medical staffers also said correctional officers tried to intimidate them after the incident.

Their accounts of what happened to Barela on Dec. 18 are outlined in reports prepared by sheriff’s detectives and a private investigator for the county Human Resources Department.

The officers saw the incident much differently. No one used excessive force, they said, and their actions were simply intended to keep everyone safe from an inmate with a history of violence.

Barela, 39 at the time, has been booked 30 times and was being held on charges that included aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to a jail report.

“This guy is a decade-long troublemaker in any facility,” jail Lt. Stephen Perkins, head of the correctional officers’ union, said in a Journal interview. “This guy is a problem child.”

Whatever happened, the incident highlights tension between correctional officers and medical personnel inside the Metropolitan Detention Center, one of the 50 largest jails in the country.

Allen acknowledged telling “the civilian staff to keep their opinions and noses out of his and security staff’s business,” the private investigator, Doug Shawn, a retired Albuquerque police officer, wrote in his report.

Andrea: Clink link for rest of article

*Anya*

10-23-2016, 06:26 PM

Andrea

10-25-2016, 07:00 AM

Police Kill Renee Davis, Pregnant Native Woman

https://www.colorlines.com/articles/police-kill-renee-davis-pregnant-native-woman (https://www.colorlines.com/articles/police-kill-renee-davis-pregnant-native-woman)

Renee Davis was shot and killed by Kings County (Washington) Sheriff’s deputies on Friday (October 21). The 23-year-old Native woman was five months pregnant and struggling with depression. She texted a friend to say that she was “in a bad way,” her foster sister, Danielle Bargala, told the Seattle Times. That person called the police, who went to Davis’ home on Muckleshoot tribal lands. Two of Davis’ three children (ages 2, 3 and 5) were there with her. The oldest child was with a family friend during the shooting.

Officers say that no one answered the door, so they entered the home. “They tried repeatedly to get somebody to come to the door, nobody did. But, they could see the two kids running around inside then house,” King County Sheriff’s Office media relations officer Cindi West told press, per local station KOMO. “The found her in the house and she was armed with a handgun.”

Bargala told the Seattle Times that she doesn’t know if her sister owned a handgun, but that as an avid hunter, she had a hunting rifle. But she does know that her sister was not violent. “It’s really upsetting because it was a wellness check. Obviously, she didn’t come out of it well,” she said.

“My community is confused. We have our own police department in which we know our deputies personally. I never thought this would happen so close to home,” Hunter Vaiese told Heavy.com. “She needed help, but she got bullets. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Davis’ children were not injured in the shooting and are currently living with relatives. The names of the two involved deputies have not yet been released; they are on paid administrative leave.

deeds

10-25-2016, 09:01 AM

Good ole corrupt Houston and Metro police. Smh. This is one reason why I don't trust cops, they fly off the handle too easily and are not properly trained.
hi you...:)
They know exactly where the kill zones are and there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Andrea

11-03-2016, 07:08 AM

Emotionally disturbed man, 49, dies after NYPD sergeant shocked him twice with stun gun in Bronx confrontation

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/man-critical-condition-cops-taser-bronx-clash-article-1.2855934 (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/man-critical-condition-cops-taser-bronx-clash-article-1.2855934)

A 49-year-old Bronx man who threatened officers with a bottle died Wednesday after an NYPD sergeant used a stun gun to subdue him, police said.

Cops responded to a 911 call around 5:30 p.m. on Mayflower Ave. in Pelham Bay about a man armed with a knife who was “acting violently.”

Three officers and the sergeant confronted the man in a basement apartment of the gray Victorian home. The distraught man menaced them with a glass bottle, police said.

The patrol sergeant used a stun gun on the man, who fell to the ground, but revived moments later and tried to fight with the officers. The sergeant delivered a second blast from the stun gun, police said.

The man went into cardiac arrest, and the cops on the scene performed CPR. Paramedics then took him to Einstein Hospital, where he died at 7:22 p.m., cops said.

The tragic incident comes just 15 days after cops shot and killed Deborah Danner, a 66-year-old woman suffering from schizophrenia, when officers answered a neighbor’s complaint about her behaving “in an irrational manner” in her Bronx apartment building.

The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division was looking into Wednesday’s death and no disciplinary action had been taken against the sergeant, identified by sources as William Melrose, a 13-year veteran working in the 45th Precinct.

Amy Spitalnick, spokeswoman for state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, said members of the office’s Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit were on the scene to review the incident for possible jurisdiction under a 2015 executive order by Gov. Cuomo.

An upstairs neighbor who only gave his first name, Derrick, said he knew the man and described him as a “real good dude.”

“He’s not an aggressive guy at all, he’s a real good man,” said the 28-year-old neighbor. He said the man was kind to his 5-year-old son.

“He works out in Long Island. He cuts cold cuts — he’s a deli guy,” Derrick said. “He was real good with my son. My son called him ‘Big Buddy.’ ”

In an Oct. 21 press conference following Danner’s death, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said, “There are times when Tasers aren’t effective, but they are less-than-lethal weapons and we do use them.”

The NYPD has increased the number of Tasers in its arsenal from 670 in 2014 to 1,710 this year, O’Neill said.

Andrea

11-17-2016, 07:28 AM

Ariz. police officer placed on leave after violent video surfaces

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/11/17/ariz-police-officer-placed-leave-after-violent-video-surfaces/94009190/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/11/17/ariz-police-officer-placed-leave-after-violent-video-surfaces/94009190/)

PHOENIX — A Flagstaff police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a video showing him punching a woman in the face surfaced Wednesday on Facebook, according to a police spokesman.

The Flagstaff Police Department "became aware" of the video, which shows Officer Jeff Bonar striking the woman during a Wednesday afternoon arrest, about 7:30 p.m. MT, police Sgt. Cory Runge said in a statement.

"Our agency is very concerned by what is depicted in this video," Runge said. "We are immediately initiating an internal investigation into this incident."

Flagstaff resident Jimmy Sedillo identified the woman in the video as his girlfriend when contacted by The Arizona Republic. He said the pair had received an eviction notice the previous week, and Wednesday was their deadline to leave.

He said officials, including Bonar, came to watch the couple leave and lock up the house. But when Bonar saw Sedillo's girlfriend walk out of the house, he identified her as having a warrant out for her arrest.

“She had a warrant a few weeks ago,” Sedillo said. “He still assumed she had a warrant.”

Sedillo said he and his 3- and 9-year-old children, mother, niece and brother-in-law watched his girlfriend get hit and tackled. His brother-in-law, Danny Paredes, shot the video shared on Facebook.

“It was just shocking,” Paredes said. “I pulled out my camera immediately.”

The video later shows an official who appears to be from the Coconino County Sheriff's Office helping Bonar hold the woman down and arrest her as she cries, "I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything."

Flagstaff police said they would release further details "as the investigation progresses."

Andrea

11-18-2016, 12:10 PM

Jail monitor: Mistakes, poor monitoring before 3 inmate deaths

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/2016/11/17/jail-monitor-mistakes-poor-monitoring-before-3-inmate-deaths/94042466/ (http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/2016/11/17/jail-monitor-mistakes-poor-monitoring-before-3-inmate-deaths/94042466/)

Three deaths at the Milwaukee County Jail all came after mistakes in medical care or potentially poor monitoring of vulnerable inmates, according to a new report issued by a court-ordered monitor of the facility.

The monitor, who is a physician, also found more than one-third of all medical positions at the County Jail and House of Correction remain vacant, an issue he said makes it "extremely difficult" to properly treat inmates.

The findings by the court-appointed monitor, Robert Shansky, are detailed in a report providing new details about the recent spate of deaths at the County Jail. The report reiterates concerns Shansky had in his report from May about Armor Correctional Health Services, the private contractor responsible for medical care at the county's two jails.

Four people have died since April at the County Jail, the downtown facility run by Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. The House of Correction, which is run by the county in Franklin, hasn't had any inmate deaths in that time. Both facilities are staffed with Armor personnel.

Shansky did not directly attribute problems with jail oversight or medical care to any of the four deaths. But in three of the four cases, he questioned whether the inmates were properly screened and monitored after being booked into jail. Shansky did not address the fourth case because it occurred in late October, one week before his visit.

"(The report) still leaves a lot of questions. I think in all of these cases, we don't really have a full picture yet," said Pete Koneazny, litigation director for the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee. The society and the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin represent Milwaukee County inmates who sued the county over medical care in 1996, a lawsuit that resulted in Shansky's appointment to monitor the jails.

The problems identified by Shansky in the deaths reflect larger issues he saw at the jails. He found "substantial delays" in responding to inmates' requests for medical attention, and noted the jails' record-keeping procedures remain out of date.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office and Armor representatives did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. Armor has previously said temporary employees are used to ensure all shifts are filled, even if the employees aren't full-time staffers.

In a statement, county executive spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said House of Correction and county officials are "actively reviewing this report and will work transparently with Armor and Dr. Shansky to address the issues raised." Baldauff noted Shansky's report often did not specify whether problems were found at the House of Correction, the County Jail, or both facilities. The county will seek clarification on issues specific to the House of Correction, she said.

Mistakes before deaths

Shansky visited the jails two weeks ago. He tours the facilities, reviews medical records and interviews staff twice a year under terms of a settlement in the 1996 lawsuit.

In his report issued this month, Shansky addressed the deaths of three people: Terrill Thomas, 38, who died of profound dehydration in April; a baby who was born, and later died, in a cell in July without any jail staff noticing; and Kristina Fiebrink, 38, whose death in August hasn't been explained.

In Thomas' case, Shansky said a shortage of corrections officers "leaves open to question whether more careful monitoring of him might have altered the outcome." Thomas, who had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had a history of schizophrenia, went days without water after jail staff turned off his access to water, according to inmate accounts.
Terrill Thomas with his 20-year-old son, also named

Terrill Thomas with his 20-year-old son, also named Terrill, at his son's high school graduation in 2014. (Photo: family photo, family photo)

Shansky also found that Armor staff could have more thoroughly and quickly evaluated Thomas' mental health issues after he was booked into jail. Thomas had been in jail for nine days before his death.

The baby's death "raises several questions," Shansky said. The inmate who gave birth, Shadé Swayzer, has said she asked for medical attention prior to giving birth, but a corrections officer laughed off her request. The Sheriff's Office said Swayzer never asked for help.

Nevertheless, Shansky questioned how an inmate could give birth in the jail's special needs unit -- Swayzer had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia -- without any staff noticing.

Shansky wrote that the baby's suspected cause of death was fetal suffocation, though he doesn't specify whether the child suffocated in utero or after birth.

In Fiebrink's case, Shansky's report doesn't specify a cause of death. The Sheriff's Office has not provided any information about the circumstances surrounding her death, and autopsy results have not been released.

Shansky does note that Fiebrink was not started on a preventative detoxification protocol -- she was a known heroin abuser and had been jailed several times in recent years -- or assessed by a medical practitioner before her death.

Before all three deaths, the inmates repeatedly refused medical care or were uncooperative with jail staff.

Persistent issues

The jail deaths all took place amid the backdrop of staffing and patient care issues at the facilities.

In October, 37% of all contractually-required medical care positions were vacant, up from about 30% in May. This was largely due to nursing shortages: 19 of 31 registered nurse positions weren't filled, 15 of 26 licensed practical nurse positions were vacant, and 3 of 4 psychiatric nurse jobs weren't staffed.

"It becomes extremely difficult to provide timely and appropriate services under those constraints," Shansky wrote.

In addition, a study by Armor's own staff of inmate "sick call" requests found some inmates waited weeks for treatment, and a few waited more than a month. Shansky also found "serious quality issues" after reviewing documents that showed how nurses treated sick inmates.

Shansky did write that many of Armor's top administrators at the jails appear serious and dedicated. He also lauded the Sheriff's Office for planning to add 70 corrections officers in January 2017. In July, a Sheriff's Office inspector said 260 jobs were budgeted for the jail, but only 186 were filled.

Koneazny, the lawyer representing inmates, said he has a "low to medium" level of confidence Armor will address problems. He agreed Armor leaders seem "competent and committed," but Armor's failure to fix problems identified in May concerns him.

Baldauff, the county spokeswoman, said staffing vacancies will be scrutinized.

"While shortages in the inmate medical field are not unusual, the seriousness of this issue in Milwaukee County warrants our full attention," she said.

Andrea

11-20-2016, 04:51 AM

Days after testifying against officer, deputies beat woman

http://www.local10.com/news/bob-norman/days-after-testifying-against-officer-woman-says-deputies-beat-her (http://www.local10.com/news/bob-norman/days-after-testifying-against-officer-woman-says-deputies-beat-her)

The cellphone video of a Fort Lauderdale police officer pushing down a homeless man and then slapping him while the man sat harmlessly on the pavement at the central bus terminal spread around the world like wildfire.

It also led to criminal charges and a highly publicized trial for Officer Victor Ramirez. At the heart of both the video and trial was a 24-year-old woman named Jessica Mooney. She can be seen in the video, which was shot by her boyfriend at the time, later reached out to the victim, Bruce LeClair, and then testified against Ramirez at his trial with the hope that it would help to stop any similar abuse from happening again.

"All I did was try to help somebody," said Mooney. "I testified because I thought it was the right thing to do, because the cop was wrong."

But just eight days after the trial ended with the officer's acquittal in March, it happened to her. She was badly beaten by Broward sheriff’s deputies at the jail after she was arrested by Fort Lauderdale police. The photos of the aftermath show Mooney -- a 5-foot, two-inch, 120-pound woman –- with a grotesquely swollen face, a gash over her eye, and bruising all over her arms, torso and legs.

Her criminal defense attorney, Scott Hecker, says there can be no good explanation for the beating.

"It never should have happened," he said. "You would think that training would prevent deputies from beating a woman like this. You’re in jail, but it’s supposed to be a safe environment .. it’s supposed to be a controlled situation. Here, unfortunately the people in control were out of control."

When interviewed, Mooney could barely bring herself to look at the photos and broke down after seeing them. She says she has lasting physical ailments from the beating, including occasional seizures.

"I never want to see this happen to anyone again," she said, before breaking into tears. "Can we stop?"

The incident occurred after an admittedly intoxicated Mooney was arrested for failing to pay a restaurant and bar bill at the Quarterdeck in Fort Lauderdale. Police arrested her while she was walking home with her five-month-old baby in tow.

"The allegation was that she handed her child to a stranger to hold the child," he said. "Eventually she was arrested for neglect and petty theft for the money that was owed to the restaurant."

The theft charge was later dropped when it was determined she had in fact paid; a misdemeanor neglect charge remains pending. It was later during fingerprinting at the Broward County Jail that the incident occurred.

According to a State Attorney's Office investigation into the incident, deputies allege Mooney had yelled profanities at them. Mooney said a deputy named Amanda Moreno was verbally abusing her. She said she asked for her name and badge number, but couldn’t see it because her hair was covering it.

"With one finger I went like this," she said, brushing her own hair away. "She smashed my face on the finger printing thing."

Three or four more deputies jumped in.

"I don't know if I lost consciousness or if my body went into shock," she said. "I believe I had a footprint on my rib cage. They split open my eyebrow. The whole inside of my mouth had cuts everywhere, just from being brutalized. I was on the floor."

Moreno and other deputies, however, told prosecutors Mooney didn’t simply brush the deputy’s hair but "violently pulled" it, according to close-out memo authored by Assistant State Attorney Ryan Kelley. Mooney’s attorney, Hecker, says he was allowed to see jail surveillance video that captured parts of the incident, and that what he saw contradicts the deputies’ stories.

"You see her hand go up to the front and go up, it's not a fist and it's not a grabbing motion as the deputies say," said Hecker. "It’s moving away."

He said the video then shows Mooney go down and several deputies standing over her, though the actual beating can’t be seen while Mooney is on the floor.

"What you can see in the video is everybody on top of her," he said. "She's underneath these people. You can see arms move."

He said that once Deputy Moreno was extricated, she went right back towards Mooney.

"It appears as though she's about to kick the defendant and as she lifts her leg she falls," Hecker said. "The "deputy falls on her rear end."

The State Attorney’s Office is refusing to release the video, even though it is part of what is now a closed investigation and would normally be a public record. Prosecutors cite a recent legal decision from Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office that basically opines that government surveillance video footage isn’t public record because its release could compromise government security systems.

Hecker notes that in this case surveillance video paid for by taxpayers meant to safeguard the public is being withheld in a way that could protect deputies from bad behavior. Conversely the release of the video could vindicate those same deputies in the eyes of the public. Hecker said he intends to get a copy of the video through a court order.

Prosecutor Kelley concluded that the video does not contain sufficient evidence to charge Moreno or any other deputy with a crime. He noted in his report that the video shows Moreno going back at Mooney and falling to the ground, but determined that her intent was "unclear." While Mooney suspects that the beating was retribution for her previous testimony, there has been no evidence found to support that is the case.

"It never should have happened," said Hecker. "The only people that were violent in this case were the BSO detention deputies."

Andrea

11-20-2016, 08:15 PM

76 gunshot wounds, 0 police cameras, countless questions

http://www.abc10.com/news/local/76-gunshot-wounds-0-police-cameras-countless-questions/354335056?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter (http://www.abc10.com/news/local/76-gunshot-wounds-0-police-cameras-countless-questions/354335056?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)

Jamarion Robinson was a runner.

His mom's house is filled with trophies stretching back to elementary school. You know, the gold, plastic trophies with a runner frozen in time.

In the photos, he's outfitted in a black helmet with yellow and red pads for Tuskegee University. The white lines of the field pass him in a blur as he runs with a football tucked under his arm. He ran his way to player of the year as a freshman. He ran his way into adulthood, surrounded by a loving family.

And he ran from police. Until the day the U.S. Marshals office kicked in the door and shot him 76 times.
draft

Jamarion Robinson was shot 76 times.

Jamarion was killed in August after a series of rapid fire while inside his girlfriend’s East Point apartment. From the first warning shots until it was over, nearly 3 minutes of gunfire was captured on the cell phone of a resident standing nearby.

Investigators have not said how many shots Robinson fired, but the Fulton County medical examiner said he was hit 76 times.

“His head, hands shot off, arms, entire upper and lower torso area, down his thighs, his shins, his feet,” said Robinson.

Community activist Nicole Borden walked through the apartment after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation processed the scene. She believes, as does the family, the use of force was excessive. On the walls you can see the investigator’s markings, counting the number of bullet holes.

“As you’re going up the stairs the numbers keep getting larger. Fifteen, 20 and you start to think like, when are you going to stop counting? I mean, number 68. Can you imagine going to a crime scene and you see number 68 bullet?” asked Borden.

U.S. Marshals said Robinson had a gun. But Borden questions how he could get six bullet wounds – one in the palm of his hand – if he was continuing to hold and fire a weapon.

She also wants to know why it took a private investigator hired by the family to find two bullets fired straight down into the ground, where Robinson’s body was laying.
draft

The Robinson family's private investigator says he found evidence of two bullets fired straight down into the ground, where Robinson’s body was laying.

The GBI is now investigating, but some believe without body cam video to help narrate the events, there’s a key piece of evidence missing.

The events leading to Jamarion Robinson's death were not caught on camera.

U.S. Marshals don’t wear body cameras, even when serving arrest warrants. Marshals are federal agents within the Department of Justice. Even though the DOJ has given more than $20 million in grants to support body camera programs at local police departments, they don’t equip their own law enforcement with them.

11Alive Investigator Rebecca Lindstrom asked for an interview with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to explain why not. The only response she received was a written statement from a spokesperson saying, “The Department of Justice is looking into the use of body cameras and has been consulting with our federal law enforcement components.”

“They have enormous power, they need to be subject to these checks and balances,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The ACLU took the U.S. Border Patrol to court demanding that, in certain situations, officers wear body cameras. The border patrol has started to implement them, slowly. The ACLU says it may take aim at U.S. Marshals next.

“I think it’s a real problem if the federal government is asking and encouraging local police forces to use body cameras, but not its own police forces like the U.S. Marshals when they’re engaged in the same activities.”

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard has launched his own investigation into Robinson’s death to determine if any of the Marshals should face charges.

“If we had body cams, a lot of the issues that have been raised about that case would go away," Howard said. "But that videotape doesn’t exist."

East Point police were at the scene to assist the U.S. Marshals. They have dash cam recording devices, but the department said the officers that day drove the new police cars which did not have cameras installed.

Howard believes that if an agency has the equipment, the community's expectation is that they will use it. He said every law enforcement officers working in the field should now be wearing body cameras - even U.S. Marshals.

“There’s no difference if somebody’s shooting at you, whether it’s a U.S. Marshal or not," Howard said. "And if the U.S. Marshal doesn’t want to wear body cams, then my position is, they shouldn’t be involved in the arrest.”

Jamarion Robinson was a wanted man.

“There’s so much going on now with innocent people being killed at the hands of the people who are supposed to be able to protect and serve us,” Monteria Robinson said.

She considers her 26-year-old son one of those innocent people and has set up a Go Fund me account to try to investigate and hold law enforcement accountable.

Robinson’s mother doesn’t understand why so many law enforcement officers were needed to arrest her son - or why, since police were aware he had recently been diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, Marshals didn’t show up with a mental health professional to assist.

After the fatal shooting, marshals said they went to arrest Robinson at the request of the Gwinnett and Atlanta police departments. They said just a few weeks earlier he had poured gas on the floor beneath his bed and in front of his mother’s bedroom.

According to the arrest warrant, a friend stopped him before anything happened. Robinson’s mom said she called police, not to have him arrested, but to get him mental health assistance.

Atlanta police had their own arrest warrant - this time for allegedly pointing a gun at officers while being confronted at a friend’s apartment complex.

In the past 2 years, Robinson had left a paper trail in courts across metro Atlanta. He pleaded guilty to a series of traffic violations in Gwinnett for driving without a license plate and giving officers a false name, all of the offenses misdemeanors. He was charged in Cobb County with possession of a controlled substance and arraigned in Union City for failing to stop at a stop sign.

His mother says he thought his problems were behind him and he was preparing to return back to school to finish his biology degree. He had already alerted his football coach about his return.

Jamarion Robinson isn't alone.

This isn’t the first time an arrest by U.S. Marshals has raised questions. A year earlier, Michael Smashey was killed as U.S. Marshals tried to arrest him in Cobb County. Sheriff’s deputies on the scene had cameras, but when Lindstrom asked to see the video, she was told it didn’t exist.

Lindstrom learned officers intentionally didn’t use them. In Cobb County, the sheriff’s policy allows deputies to turn off their cameras “when undercover agents such as federal marshals and narcotics agents may be recorded.”

Simon Araya, who helps create the technology behind Utility’s Body Worn cameras, said it’s not his place to set policy. But he said his company’s redaction software can conceal the voice or physical identity of an undercover officer in a matter of minutes.

“It doesn’t matter where he is in the video. The software will keep looking for him and when he comes back into view it will redact him,” Araya said while demonstrating the technology.

Jamarion Robinson's family is pushing for change.

Robinson doesn’t know what happened inside the apartment where her son died, but she does know something needs to change.

“Someone has to eventually stand up and that’s going to be the Robinson family," she said. "Someone has to stand up and say no more. And that’s going to be the Robinson family."

Andrea

11-24-2016, 07:49 AM

Video shows police hitting teen protester with baton

http://www.abc10.com/news/local/stockton/video-shows-police-hitting-teen-protester-with-baton/355472143?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter (http://www.abc10.com/news/local/stockton/video-shows-police-hitting-teen-protester-with-baton/355472143?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)

A protest in Stockton turned violent when an officer used his baton to hit a 16-year-old girl.

ABC10 News recently received cellphone video from the protest, which took place October 12. Protesters were demanding that the Stockton Police Department release body camera footage related to the death of Colby Friday, who was killed in an officer-involved shooting.

Tamaya Slaughter, the 16-year-old protester, said police were trying to stop protesters from moving off the sidewalk and crossing the street.

“I guess he got mad, I guess people were yelling,” Slaughter said. “I was standing right there, and he hit me.”

In the cellphone video, an officer is seen turning his baton and jamming it into the crowd. Slaughter can be heard screaming off-camera.

Soon after that, Slaughter was arrested for battery of an officer and resisting arrest – charges that are still pending. Stockton Police Department spokesman Joseph Silva told ABC10 News that the officer was spat on by Slaughter prior to using his baton.

Slaughter denies spitting on the officer.

“I do not recall. I was yelling out of anger. If it was, it wasn’t intentional,” Slaughter said.

Dionne Smith Downs, a friend of Slaughter’s mother, filmed the cellphone video. She said they want police body camera video to be released.

“Show us! We’ve been asking for cameras. Every other city is playing videos. Every other thing other cities have done – they show videos. Why is Stockton the only city that never wants to give you nothing?” Smith Downs asked.

Silva said that the Mobile Field Force, the specialized unit seen in the video, trains regularly on crowd management and uses only reasonable and necessary force.

“Since the suspect is still in the court process pending charges of battery on an officer and resisting arrest, we cannot release any evidentiary video footage. Just like in any use of force case, an administrative review was completed and the officer’s actions were found to be within Department policy,” Silva said.

Yolanda Huang, Slaughter’s attorney, is asking for charges to be dropped against her client.

“The Stockton Police have a history of excessive force against unarmed citizens, particularly against people of color. This latest incident where Stockton police attacked black children, who were peacefully exercising their first amendment rights by protesting the latest police shooting of an unarmed civilian, Colby Friday, is egregious and unacceptable,” Huang said.

Andrea

11-24-2016, 07:52 AM

Lawsuit: Cops mocked man's genitals during strip search

http://www.kcra.com/article/lawsuit-cops-mocked-man-s-genitals-during-strip-search/8362514 (http://www.kcra.com/article/lawsuit-cops-mocked-man-s-genitals-during-strip-search/8362514)

A new lawsuit accuses New Jersey police officers of unjustly strip searching a honeymooning Israeli man at a mall and mocking his genitals.

The unidentified 38-year-old man filed a discrimination lawsuit in Bergen County Superior Court on Wednesday.

The lawsuit says security at the Westfield Garden State Plaza mall stopped the man in November 2015 after he was accused of shoplifting.

When a search of the man's shopping bag uncovered no stolen items, the suit claims at least three Paramus police officers forced him into a corridor "open to the public" and pulled his pants down.

The officers were allegedly "openly laughing" while making fun of the man's genitals, accent and national origin.

The borough's attorney says he hasn't seen the lawsuit.

Andrea

11-24-2016, 05:18 PM

Andrea

11-26-2016, 10:37 AM

No Gun Found At Scene Where Police Officer Fatally Shot Man, Top Cop Says

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20161124/west-englewood/police-shoot-man-involved-shootings-gun (https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20161124/west-englewood/police-shoot-man-involved-shootings-gun)

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said investigators have been unable to find a gun near the scene where a police sergeant shot and killed a man who he said pointed a gun at him during a chase.

"There's still many unanswered questions," Johnson said during a Thursday afternoon press conference. "We are working diligently to find those answers."

Johnson said detectives were trying to find any surveillance video to help piece together what happened late Wednesday in West Englewood, where police have shot and killed two men within the last week.

According to a police statement issued overnight, an Englewood District sergeant responded to a call of a battery in the 1400 block of West 65th Street at 11:07 p.m. and found a man matching the description of the attacker, police said.

The man, who police have not identified, ran away and the sergeant began chasing him, police said.

During the chase, the man turned around and pointed a gun at the sergeant twice, the sergeant told detectives.

The sergeant then shot the man, police said.

The man was taken to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Family identified him as 19-year-old Kajuan Raye of south suburban Dolton, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Raye's family disputed the police version of events, according to the Tribune.

"There was no gun," Raye's cousin Ahkeya White told the newspaper.

Around 11 a.m. Thursday, activist Eric Russell canvassed the shooting scene, looking for people who might have witnessed what happened. He's convinced police shot an unarmed man.

"Police don't get to be judge, jury and executioner," Russell said. "Once again we have an unarmed black boy that was executed... Every time they police our community, they police our community with deadly intent. So, once again, we have another dead kid. There was no weapon recovered."

According to the overnight police statement, detectives and internal affairs investigators were searching the shooting scene to try to find any evidence and the man's gun. But that search proved fruitless, Johnson said Thursday afternoon.

"We were not able to locate the weapon as of yet," he said.

After Johnson delivered his statement, Chicago-based activist Ja'Mal Green led a press conference calling for total reform in the Chicago Police Department.

"This is the same narrative being pushed on every situation," said Green, who was indicted in August on nine felony charges after prosecutors said he attacked multiple police officers at a protest. "Every situation they're a criminal. Every situation they have a gun. But now we've got them where we want them. ... In this situation, they said he had a gun, yet they can't recover a gun."

Green said the sergeant must be punished, claiming it's not the first time he has fired a weapon while on duty.

"This is not his first time shooting someone," Green said. "He needs to be stripped of his police powers immediately. That is what we're calling for... Why is he still on the streets? And why does he have the rank of a sergeant?"

The sergeant, who was not injured, will be placed on administrative leave for 30 days while the Independent Police Review Authority investigates the case.

IPRA officials were not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) called on the community to "join me in withholding judgment until all the facts are presented by IPRA."

"We are all undoubtedly angered and frustrated by the events of last night," Lopez said. "Together we will address those facts as a community, with police, residents and leaders all at the table. We can and must move forward together."

The incident marked the second time in less than a week that police shot and killed a man in West Englewood. On Friday, police fatally shot 26-year-old Darius Jones after they saw him shoot another man, police said.

Vigil for man killed by cop; autopsy says fatal shot was in back

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/man-shot-by-chicago-police-sgt-died-from-gunshot-wound-to-back/ (http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/man-shot-by-chicago-police-sgt-died-from-gunshot-wound-to-back/)

Relatives of Kajuan Raye went to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office Friday afternoon to formally identify the body of the 19-year-old, who was shot dead Wednesday by a Chicago Police officer.

The group then drove to join a vigil at the West Englewood intersection where the teen was killed. There, they recalled the life of a teen who loved to play basketball, and adored dogs — a portrait that stands in stark contrast to the portrayal of Raye in police accounts of his final moments.

Police said a CPD sergeant shot the teen Wednesday night. The sergeant had given chase, thinking Raye matched the description of a battery suspect. Police say Raye was shot after the teen twice appeared to point a gun at the pursuing officer. Police said no gun had been found at shooting scene as of Thursday, and declined to say Friday whether a search of the surrounding area was still ongoing. The Medical Examiner’s office on Friday said an autopsy showed Raye was killed by a gunshot in the back.

Raye’s cousin, Ahkeya White, said the family was concerned about media attention paid to Raye’s prior arrest for theft, and said the teen was not doing anything wrong before police attempted to stop him Wednesday.

“Everybody got a story. Everybody got something they don’t want to put on TV,” White said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “That moment … two nights ago, whatever he did, he wasn’t doing it then, when they shot him down. And that officer didn’t know him.”

About 80 people crowded onto the sidewalk, some holding candles as they took turns at a microphone attached to a balky loudspeaker, remembering Raye’s life and calling for justice.

In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, attorney Jay Payne said he is representing the family, and planned to file a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Monday against the CPD and the officer who shot Raye.

“We will not wait on the IPRA investigation, we will not wait for the police,” Payne said. “We will seek justice for this family.”

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Thursday that police were searching for the weapon. Payne said he was at the shooting scene Thursday and watched investigators “packing up.”

“They’re done searching and they didn’t find a gun, because the kid didn’t have a gun,” Payne said. “If they come out and say they found a gun, 48 hours after the fact, it doesn’t look good for them. It smacks of a coverup.”

Johnson also said it was not clear if the officers involved in the chase and shooting were wearing body cameras, though the department announced in September that body cameras would be issued to all patrol officers in six police districts, including the 7th District-Englewood, where Raye was shot. A spokeswoman for the Independent Police Review Authority, the city agency that investigates police misconduct, said Thursday that officers in the 7th District had not yet been outfitted with body cameras.

IPRA, the city agency which investigates police shootings and allegations of misconduct, is reviewing the shooting. The sergeant who shot Raye has been placed on desk duty while the investigation is pending.

Surveillance camera video from a church near the shooting scene shows Raye sprinting away from a police officer, who trails the teen by a a half-dozen yards. The footage does not capture the shooting.

White, Raye’s cousin, addressed the prospect of the planned lawsuit in her remarks.

“We all work. It ain’t about no money, we don’t need money. Whatever they give … it won’t bring him back,” White said. “We’re trying to move forward… we’re going to do it by the book.”

Raye’s death was one of three fatal shootings by Chicago police officers in the last seven days, and the second in Englewood. Darius Dishaun Jones was gunned down in the 2000 block of West 69th Street, where police officers on patrol saw Jones shooting at a 26-year-old man. Police said officers opened fire after Jones ignored “repeated” orders to drop his weapon. Jones was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Hospital. The man he allegedly shot suffered a wound to the abdomen, and was in critical condition.

Early Friday, police said 37-year-old Cleotha Mitchell was shot by an officer in the 600 block of Central Park Avenue in Homan Square, after Mitchell had fatally shot 35-year-old Jeffrey Banks.

Raye’s mother, Karonisha Ramsey, said only a few sentences, thanking the crowd of mourners.

“And as for my baby, I guess, we gonna get justice,” she said.

In a phone interview several hours before the vigil, Ramsey said Raye had called her Wednesday not long before he was shot, and she said he was on his way to her Dolton home for Thanksgiving dinner, which Ramsey has always cooked up on the Wednesday before the official holiday.

Ramsey said Raye had only recently moved back to Chicago after she had sent him to live with his aunt and grandmother in Texas. The teen had been unmotivated and his grades were slipping at Thorton Fractional High School, Ramsey said, and she hoped a change of scene would help him.

“I just wanted to put him in a different environment,” Ramsey said. “He had perfect attendance (at Thorton), he just wasn’t doing the work.”

Raye moved back when he turned 18, and while he wasn’t in school, Ramsey said she insisted that he start working toward getting his General Equivalency Diploma, and Raye was trying to get a job at Dominos Pizza, where his sister works. Someday, the teen hoped to become a veterinarian.

“He just loved dogs, and he kept saying he wanted to be a veterinarian. All he watched was Animal Channel,” she said. “He was a happy person. He wasn’t ever a problem.”

Andrea

11-26-2016, 08:30 PM

Former LCPD officers seen beating man cleared of charges

http://www.kvia.com/news/top-stories/former-las-cruces-police-officers-seen-beating-man-cleared-of-charges/185140889 (http://www.kvia.com/news/top-stories/former-las-cruces-police-officers-seen-beating-man-cleared-of-charges/185140889)

Two Las Cruces Police Department officers who were seen beating a handcuffed man in a surveillance video will not go to trial after all.

Abc-7 confirmed Friday the District Attorney's office is not pursuing the aggravated battery charges against former officer Richard Garcia and Danny Salcido.

In a video obtained by Abc-7, Ross Fynn is seen being beaten by the two officers. Flynn suffered several broken facial bones and a cracked skull. Flynn was being arrested for allegedly threatening a neighbor with a gun. He was found not guilty but he was convicted of resisting arrest and is currently on probation.

Garcia went on trial last summer and the judge declared a mistrial, Salcido has yet to face a jury. Las Cruces Police Chief Jaime Montoya tells Abc-7 District Attorney Mark D'Antonio consulted with the state Attorney General's office and late Wednesday afternoon, a decision was made to drop the charges against both former officers.

Flynn is suing the City of Las Cruces for $12,000,000,000.

Andrea

11-28-2016, 07:48 AM

Teens sue Detroit cops over botched hooker sting

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/11/28/teens-sue-detroit-cops-over-botched-hooker-sting/94534522/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/11/28/teens-sue-detroit-cops-over-botched-hooker-sting/94534522/)

An undercover hooker. A coney island restaurant. Three teenage boys in a car.

Mix 'em up, and you have the makings of a civil rights lawsuit that's unfolding in federal court, where three suburban teenagers are suing six Detroit police officers over accusations of arresting and mistreating them during a summer prostitution sting that ended with the teens getting dropped off in an unfamiliar area of the city and ordered to walk home to Dearborn.

According to the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, the police engaged in misconduct of all sorts that August night. It alleges the officers drove the boys through neighborhoods at "reckless speeds" without activating emergency lights or sirens; impounded their car and said it would cost "thousands of dollars" to get it back; took a photo of one of the handcuffed boys and broadcast it on the Internet using the Snapchat app, and laughed and joked about the arrest.

All of this happened, the lawsuit claims, because the officers thought the teens were trying to flag down a relative and stop him from approaching an undercover prostitute outside the Caesars Coney Island on Warren in west Detroit. The teens were charged with interfering with police activity, but the charges were later dismissed.

"It was pretty outrageous," said defense attorney Amir Makled, who represented the teens after their arrest. "They charged these guys with interfering with police activity. In essence, they were accused of stopping prostitution in the making ... these officers were just out of control."

Makled disputes that the teens were trying to deter someone from picking up a prostitute, but argues that even if they were: "It's not a crime ... that's a First Amendment issue right there ... it’s not as if they were in the middle of an arrest."

The Detroit Police Department declined comment on the lawsuit, which was filed Nov. 18 in U.S. District Court in Detroit on behalf of Hassan Abdallah and Ibrahim Bazzi, both 17 of Dearborn; and Ali Chami, 18, of Romulus.

According to the police report, no force was used in the arrest and there was no video or audio of the incident. The report said a team of officers with the 6th Precinct was conducting an undercover prostitution sting in the area of Winthrop and Warren at 6:45 p.m. Aug. 26, when they spotted a group of males sitting in a Chevy Monte Carlo in the parking lot of the Caesars Coney Island.

"The males were yelling across the street and waving their arms to get the attention of an older Arabic male who was making his way toward our ... decoy. The males were yelling, 'Don't do it! Don't do it?' " the police report stated. "The males appeared to be discouraging the older Arabic male from talking with the decoy."

This interfered with the police operation, an officer wrote in the report, so the teenagers were arrested and their car was taken to a "staging area by the takedown." The vehicle was towed by Detroit Auto Tow for impound, the report said.

For plaintiffs attorney Nick Hadous, the police version of events sounded like hogwash.

"It sounds almost like something you’d see on TV, like 'Narkos' or 'Menace to Society,' where kids are dropped off far away from home. Something really didn’t sit well with me when I heard what happened," said Hadous, who filed a civil suit after getting contacted by the teens' parents. "They are outraged. They do not believe police should be treating anyone’s children that way."

Especially egregious is that police abandoned the teens in the middle of Detroit and told them to walk to Dearborn, said Hadous, who argues the teens did nothing wrong.

"What I heard that really offended me was that these kids were arrested on the basis of what seems to be more a speculative crime involving somebody else. There was no underlying crime," said Hadous, arguing the drop-off location was especially alarming. "Why would you drop them off at a Detroit location, especially when two of them were minors? Are their lives that worthless that you don’t even consider their safety? And putting it on Snapchat?"

According to the lawsuit, here's what happened on the night of the arrests:

Two teenagers were sitting in their car eating chips and drinking soda while waiting for their friend to get out of work at the coney island. When he got out, he joined them in the car. As they were about to leave the parking lot, one of the teens noticed a relative pull his car into a nearby CVS pharmacy and started to wave to the relative, who drove over and greeted them.

As soon as the relative left, the police officers stormed the coney island parking lot with their vehicles and surrounded the teenagers, who were handcuffed, searched and placed under arrest for an "imaginary offense," the lawsuit states. The officers drove the teens around town and dropped them off at Tireman and Abington in Detroit instead of a police station where their parents could safely pick them up," the lawsuit states.

The officers ordered the teens to walk home and "the boys complied," the lawsuit states.

Over the next few days, one of the teens — 17-year-old Hassan Abdallah — made several calls to find out where his car was towed. At one point, he was told that it would cost "thousands of dollars to get the car back," the lawsuit states, noting the teen's father intervened and ultimately paid hundreds of dollars to get the car back from a towing company.

Throughout this ordeal, the lawsuit states, the police refused to drop the charges and forced the teenagers to get lawyers. The criminal charges were ultimately dropped.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

"We want justice," Hadous said. "We want the department to be aware of what happened and maybe take any appropriate measures they deem warranted. This is something that shouldn’t be happening to anybody."

The reporting officers listed on the police report are Michael Carson and Joseph Machon — both of whom are named defendants in the lawsuit.

According to DPD spokesman Michael Woody, Carson and Machon still work at DPD, as do two other officers who are named in the lawsuit: Jordan Leavy and Ibrahim Abdul-Hamid. Two other officers are also being sued, but their full names were not listed in the lawsuit.

Andrea

11-30-2016, 11:16 AM

Voice appearing to be Philadelphia police officer responds to taunt

http://www.fox29.com/news/206931486-story (http://www.fox29.com/news/206931486-story)

The whole video lasts just 44 seconds. We've blurred the faces of the officers because we've not been able to identify them for their side of the story. However, the audio-- difficult as it may be to hear-- tells the story. A FOX 29 viewer sent us the video.

The video shows two white Philadelphia police officers looking for information from several young black men on a city street corner. The conversation quickly goes sideways and the cops order the men to disperse.

On the video, one of the black men is heard to saying, "Come on y'all, they might be gonna shoot us."

Voice appearing to be Philadelphia police officer responds to taunt

A voice that appears to be one of the officers replies: "Not all of you-- just one." The camera turns so you can't see the person.

FOX 29 caught up with Police Commissioner Richard Ross at a Hero Thrill Show preview event and played him the video.

"There's no doubt the context is difficult to deny. We’ve going to have to figure out who made that comment and obviously it's highly inappropriate," said Commissioner Ross.

Consider the state of relations between police and the African-American community. On one hand, incidents in Tulsa and now Charlotte in which cops kill men who may or not be an actual threat. On the other, right here in Philadelphia, an officer targeted-- ambushed-- by a black man in January. And a police sergeant released from the hospital days after being ambushed by a black man in a shooting rampage last Friday night.

There is frustration on both sides.

"Oh, it's tough. We're under-manned, under equipped. The attitude toward police has changed everywhere around the country. We've seen that," said John McNesby, with the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police.

Andrea

11-30-2016, 11:18 AM

Maricopa Co. Attorney won't prosecute officers who pepper sprayed woman

http://www.12news.com/news/local/valley/maricopa-co-attorney-wont-prosecute-officers-who-pepper-sprayed-woman/358326406 (http://www.12news.com/news/local/valley/maricopa-co-attorney-wont-prosecute-officers-who-pepper-sprayed-woman/358326406)

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office has decided not to prosecute two Phoenix police officers accused of lying about giving medical aid to a homeless woman they pepper sprayed last year. The decision comes despite the fact that the MCAO took it to a grand jury, which returned an indictment against the men and both were formally charged and arraigned. Clearly the process was well underway with pre-trial conferences and comprehensive trial conferences already scheduled to begin in January 2017.

Officers Chris Tiona and Logan Egnor told investigators that they had pepper sprayed an aggressive homeless woman in May of 2015 and stayed with her to treat her, but data from their vehicle locator and footage from their body cameras bring the medical aid into question.

Both officers were indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury on October 25, on one felony count each for tampering with a public record. The indictment alleged Tiona and Egnor knowingly, with the intent to defraud or deceive made false written reports following the May 24, 2015 encounter with the homeless woman.

The footage also brings up the question of whether the pepper spray was necessary, as well as their characterization of the woman's aggressive behavior.

So why, then, did the prosecutor Ed Leiter change his mind? The State's motion to dismiss reflecting the decision to toss out the case has not yet been released, but MCAO spokesperson Amanda Jacinto released this statement to 12 News:

“Upon further review it was determined that based on the facts of the case the office declined prosecution as there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction.”

Last week, 12 News reported that Tiona and Egnor were back under investigation by Phoenix PD. They previously served 240-hour unpaid suspensions of their peace officer certification after entering into consent agreements with the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, which certifies all police officers in the state.

Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said the department would continue its internal investigation and the officers would remain on administrative leave.

Bob Kavanagh, attorney for officer Tiona, acknowledged the State filed a motion to dismiss the case against his client. He went on to say that he has not seen an order from the judge granting the State's motion. Kavanagh tells 12 News, "I will not be commenting further."

We also contacted attorney Jess Lorona, who is defending Egnor. He did not appear to know the prosecutor moved to dismiss the case against his client but said he was going to find out. We have not yet heard back from Lorona.

Andrea

11-30-2016, 12:14 PM

Keith Lamont Scott killing: No charges against officer, DA says

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/30/us/keith-lamont-scott-case-brentley-vinson/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/30/us/keith-lamont-scott-case-brentley-vinson/index.html)

Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN)[Breaking news update at 12:16 p.m. ET]
The announcement that no officers will be charged in the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott "doesn't end our inquiry," Scott family attorney Charles Monnett said Wednesday.

"We still have concerns," Monnett said. "We still have real questions about what decisions were made that day," such as whether police could have used better de-escalation techniques that may have prevented Scott's death.

[Breaking news update at 11:40 a.m. ET]
Charlotte police Officer Brentley Vinson's deadly use of force was lawful the day he killed Keith Lamont Scott, Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray said Wednesday.

He said no charges will be filed in the case, and that 15 prosecutors reached the decision unanimously.

Murray urged the community to remain calm.

"I know some are going to be frustrated," he said, but Vinson "was justified in shooting him."

The district attorney said he met with Scott's family before making the announcement, and that the family was "extremely gracious."

[Breaking news update at 11:16 a.m. ET]
In response to public speculation about whether Keith Lamont Scott was armed the day he was killed by police, Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray said "all the credible evidence" leads to the conclusion Scott was armed.

His DNA was found on the grip of a gun found at the scene, Murray said.

[Breaking news update at 11:04 a.m. ET]
Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray is holding a news conference, describing new details from the day Keith Lamont Scott was killed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Brentley Vinson.

Murray showed surveillance footage from a convenience store shortly before Scott was shot at an apartment complex. The footage showed a bulge around Scott's ankle. Murray said the bulge is consistent with the holster and gun later described by officers.

The district attorney also said at least three officers reported seeing Scott holding a gun before he was shot, though dashcam video did not show that detail.

[Previous story, published at 10:23 a.m. ET]
Two months after Keith Lamont Scott was killed by a police officer at a Charlotte apartment complex, the local district attorney is expected to announce whether the officer will be charged.

The 43-year-old black man's death sparked protests and added more fuel to the national debate over whether police are too quick to use deadly force, particularly against African-American men.

The officer who shot Scott, Officer Brentley Vinson, is also black.

Police said they were looking for someone with an outstanding warrant when Scott, 43, exited a vehicle with a gun.

Scott's family said the father of seven children didn't have a gun. But police say Vinson opened fire after Scott stepped out of a vehicle with a gun in his hand and didn't obey commands to drop it.

Scott's death led to public pressure on local police to release video of the shooting. The night after Scott's death, hundreds of protesters gathered. Many said they were angry about what they said was unnecessary police action. Some protests were peaceful, others turned violent.

In October, officials released footage of the incident. Video taken by Scott's widow shows a different perspective of what happened.

Dashcam footage shows an officer in plain clothes with his weapon drawn on Scott as Scott exits an SUV and begins walking backward. Vinson then shoots Scott four times.

Attorneys for Scott's family have said the videos show he wasn't aggressive when police surrounded him. Scott's daughter said her father was in his SUV reading a book, waiting for a son to come home from school. But police said no book was found at the scene.

Cell phone video recorded by Scott's wife, Rakeyia, shows a different angle of the incident. In that video, a man repeatedly yells for someone -- apparently Scott -- to "drop the gun."

"He doesn't have a gun. He has a TBI (traumatic brain injury)," Rakeyia Scott says, referencing an injury Scott sustained during a motorcycle accident. "He's not going to do anything to you guys. He just took his medicine."

The videos don't clearly show whether Scott was armed. And critics say there's one key element missing from the body camera video released by police: sound.

An autopsy report later revealed the cause of Scott's death as gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.

Tests of Scott's blood indicated the presence of diazepam, amantadine, babapentin, nicotine, nordiazepam and promethazine. Scott's family attorney said the drugs were being used to treat Scott's traumatic brain injury.

Andrea

12-03-2016, 08:46 AM

Baltimore officer indicted on assault, misconduct charges

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-cop-indicted-20161202-story.html (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-cop-indicted-20161202-story.html)

Body camera footage helped a grand jury indict a Baltimore police officer who investigators say used unnecessary force to make an arrest.

Donald B. Gaff, a three-and-a-half-year veteran, faces assault and misconduct charges in the Sept. 11 incident near East Patapsco Avenue, police said.

Police said he used "unjustified force" but provided no details Friday on the case, including the type of force Gaff was said to have used.

Internal investigators were doing a "routine review" of body camera footage, when they saw the alleged abuse. The detectives presented their findings to the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office for prosecution. Gaff's police powers have been suspended, police said. He was assigned to the Southern District.

"This incident again demonstrates our capacity and willingness to hold police officers engaged in misconduct accountable," Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said in a statement. "His actions do not represent the professionalism exhibited by the men and women of the Baltimore Police Department on a daily basis."

Police said they will not release the footage of the incident, and have turned it over to prosecutors.

A call to Baltimore police union president Lt. Gene Ryan was not immediately returned Friday afternoon, and no attorney was listed in court records representing Gaff.

In January 2015, Gaff fatally shot a man at a child's birthday party in the 1900 block of McHenry Street after he was flagged down by a resident. Police said a man was carrying a knife at the party and threatening to stab people. After being asked to drop the knife, police said, Gaff shot him once in the upper chest, killing him.

In that case, then-deputy police commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said Gaff had "courageously" confronted the man and was in the "right place at the right time."

"I think it's safe to say that through the officer's quick actions and the fact that the officer was deployed here and was able to quickly respond, this scene could've been a lot different," Rodriguez said at the time.

Andrea

12-03-2016, 05:39 PM

Retired Corrections Officer Claims Garden City Police Mistakenly Beat Him

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/12/02/corrections-officer-sues-garden-city-police/ (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/12/02/corrections-officer-sues-garden-city-police/)

A retired Nassau County corrections officer claims he was beaten by officers in a case of mistaken identity.

Ronald Lanier said he was shopping in the Western Beef Supermarket in Mineola on Nov. 30 when he was tackled, handcuffed and beaten by officers with the Garden City Police Department.

“I’ve never been cursed, physically abused, beaten and treated like a slave as I was two days ago,” Lanier said, breaking down as he described how he landed in handcuffs and in a hospital. “For somebody to grab me by the neck in the supermarket, and I’m telling you, ‘I’m one of you,’ and you disrespect it — it was like you’re just another black dude.”

“They cursed at him, they abused him verbally, they then start to beat him,” his attorney, Fred Brewington, told 1010 WINS. “He was taking blows with his hands cuffed behind him as he laid facedown.”

Lanier, who retired after two decades as a Nassau County corrections officer, claims he complied and explained to the officers that he was law enforcement, but they just laughed.

The officers, who are white, claimed they were searching for a black shoplifting suspect, who was later apprehended on the roof of the building.

“They didn’t have a good description of who they were looking for. That doesn’t give you the right to go into a store and grab the first black person you see and throw them to the ground,” his attorney, Fred Brewington, told 1010 WINS. “The fact that he happened to be a black male in the store does not make him a culprit, it does not make him a suspect.”

Lanier intends to sue the Garden City Police Department, accusing them of violating his civil rights. He wants the officers stripped of their badges.

“I’m tired of hearing officers constantly talking about we have to retrain. We don’t have to retrain, we got to let them be held accountable for their actions,” Lanier said. “Imagine if I had my gun at that time. It could have went either way.”

“We are hoping Garden City Police Department will come forward with respect, identifying their officers, disciplining their officers,” said Dennis Jones, with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

The Garden City Police Department declined to share its side of the story with CBS2, but provided context, saying they were chasing a fleeing shoplifting suspect who abandoned a getaway car on the railroad tracks and fled into the supermarket, Carolyn Gusoff reported.

Brewington said his client spent 20 minutes inside a squad car before he was let go without receiving an apology.

“The sergeant, without any apology or any other way of making it clear that they were acknowledging the mistake that they had made, just said cut him loose,” Brewington said.

Western Beef does have interior security cameras, but would not share the video with CBS2.

Andrea

12-05-2016, 12:36 PM

Former Roanoke police officer pleads no contest to sexually assaulting female prisoners

http://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/roanoke/former-roanoke-police-officer-pleads-no-contest-to-sexually-assaulting/article_aead7093-cdae-5096-aa3b-a393cf8904bd.html (http://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/roanoke/former-roanoke-police-officer-pleads-no-contest-to-sexually-assaulting/article_aead7093-cdae-5096-aa3b-a393cf8904bd.html)

A former Roanoke police officer has resolved the two criminal cases against him, both involving sexual assault claims by prisoners who were in his custody.

Francisco Alberto Duarte, 30, was indicted earlier this year on charges of aggravated sexual battery and forcible sodomy.

He was due to go to trial on the former case on Thursday morning and on the latter case in January.

At a hearing Thursday in Roanoke Circuit Court, Duarte pleaded no contest to amended counts of felony carnal knowledge with an inmate and misdemeanor sexual battery.

Through a plea agreement with prosecutors, Duarte received six months to serve on each charge, with five years in suspended time. He likely will end up serving about three months on the misdemeanor offense and another six on the felony. He was taken into custody as soon as the hearing ended.

Based on the statute under which Duarte was charged, he will not have to register as a sex offender, his lawyer said.

In a summary of the prosecution’s evidence, Roanoke Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney John McNeil said the two offenses occurred while Duarte was on duty and was taking female prisoners to the Roanoke City Jail.

In the first instance, which occurred Dec. 2, 2015, McNeil said security camera footage showed Duarte bringing a woman into the jail, talking with her briefly, then leaving with her and going back out to his car.

McNeil said the woman can be heard telling Duarte, “No one has to know.”

The woman later told investigators they rode a short distance from the jail, parked and then engaged in oral sex.

“The mere fact that she was in custody and he was a police officer made her feel like she had no choice in the matter,” McNeil said.

He said the woman reported the incident while she was being processed into custody. Duarte was interviewed by police officials and “taken off the road” within hours.

A police spokesman said earlier this year that Duarte’s last day with the force was Dec. 3, 2015, but he declined to elaborate, saying it was a personnel matter.

The second incident came to light in March. McNeil said a woman charged with a petty offense in Roanoke County told investigators that she had been arrested on a shoplifting charge in Roanoke in September 2015. While being taken to jail by Duarte, he had stopped in a motel parking lot where he parked, exposed himself and placed her hand on his privates, she said. McNeil said she rejected the advance and they continued on to jail from there.

Neither woman is being identified in this story because The Roanoke Times does not name victims of sexual assault.

“These are cases we have wrestled with for months,” McNeil told Judge David Carson. He said the circumstances of the cases complicated the prospects of going to trial. Both witnesses had expressed reluctance to testify, he said, and they approved of the agreement.

“They both want to move on,” he said.

Defense attorney David Damico added that there were “significant issues that would’ve potentially affected the credibility of the witnesses,” and that there was little evidence that force had been involved in either case.

Under the initial indictments, Duarte had faced the possibility of maximum sentences of life plus 20 years in prison.

“He exercised monumentally bad judgment,” Damico said. “We see this as a pragmatic solution to a difficult situation.”

Asked by Carson whether he wanted to make a statement before his conviction, Duarte declined.

Both sides in the case have exercised extreme discretion as the matter has moved forward through the courts. Most relevant court documents were placed under seal, and members of the media were barred from an evidentiary hearing in September — on a motion from the defense — while recordings were played. The windows of the courtroom doors were also covered during that hearing.

Andrea

12-08-2016, 06:51 AM

Video: Miami Cops Throw Legless Woman to Ground

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/12/07/video-miami-cops-throw-legless-woman-to-ground.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl (http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/12/07/video-miami-cops-throw-legless-woman-to-ground.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl)

http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/cheats/2016/12/07/video-miami-cops-throw-legless-woman-to-ground/jcr:content/image.img.707.jpg/49371788.cached.jpg

Video emerged Wednesday of two Miami-Dade police officers handcuffing a legless woman and throwing her to the ground from her wheelchair. Mary Luis Brown, 52, was panhandling outside as gas station on Saturday night when cops arrived to ask her to leave. Bystanders filmed the unnamed officers manhandling Brown, cuffing her and throwing her to the ground as she shouted, “Stop hurting me!” The police department admits the two officers acted improperly and noted that “we need to provide our law enforcement officers additional resources to aid them in facilitating the transport of disabled individuals, so that situations such as these are handled in a more amicable manner in the future.” Brown was arrested for trespassing and transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Andrea: Clink link for video

Andrea

12-09-2016, 09:54 AM

Cops Gagged and Smothered a Man to Death, Then Fist-Bumped

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/08/cops-gagged-and-smothered-a-man-to-death-then-fist-bumped.html?via=desktop&source=twitter (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/08/cops-gagged-and-smothered-a-man-to-death-then-fist-bumped.html?via=desktop&source=twitter)

Police handcuffed Ben Anthony C de Baca, threw him on his stomach, pulled a mask over his face, and planted their knees in his back. While he cried that he couldn’t breathe, the officers were busy laughing at a joke. They stopped laughing when they realized he’d gone limp.

“Anthony,” one officer said, wiggling the dead man’s arm. “Anthony.”

“Fuck,” another one said.

He was dead.

Twelve minutes after that, two officers fist-bumped.

Medical examiners ruled C de Baca’s Sept. 6, 2015 death a homicide from “excited delirium (cocaine intoxication) complicated by means of physical restraint.” An investigation by New Mexico’s Rio Rancho Police Department found no criminal intent by any of the three police agencies involved in the arrest. But C de Baca’s family says his death was a senseless act of police brutality and incompetence.

The family is planning a wrongful death suit against the three law enforcement agencies involved in his arrest, family attorney Ahmad Assed told The Daily Beast. Meanwhile, Sandoval County District Attorney’s Office prosecutor told The Daily Beast it is investigating C de Baca’s death for potential criminal charges.

C de Baca had a history of mental illness, his wife said, according to a police report. Doctors had recently changed his medication, and he had been “acting very paranoid all week,” she said. On the day of his death, his wife said he had experienced “schizophrenic episodes,” which came to a head at a McDonald’s.

While waiting in the drive-through line, C de Baca began acting irrationally, telling his wife that there were people in the trunk. She humored him, promising to check the trunk, at which point he flung his legs into the driver’s side of the car and slammed on the gas, sending the car speeding into another vehicle.

C de Baca then fled on foot to a nearby Wal-Mart, where he began throwing soda and smashing televisions. He shouted, “‘You are all murderers, you killed my kid’ and other things that didn’t make sense,” a Wal-Mart employee told police.

Workers called 911. Officers from three departments arrived on the scene, due to the Wal-Mart’s location near the intersection of three jurisdictions. An officer from the Rio Rancho Police Department responded to a report about C de Baca’s car crash outside the nearby McDonald’s, while officers from the neighboring Bernalillo and Santa Ana police departments responded to the call from inside the Wal-Mart. (The Rio Rancho Police Department decline to comment on this story. The Santa Ana and Bernalillo police departments did not return The Daily Beast’s requests for comment.) Bernalillo and Santa Ana officers found C de Baca in the store, where they cuffed him on the floor, body camera footage shows.

“Stand up or we’re going to drag you out, one way or another,” an officer is seen telling the restrained man. But C de Baca continued to struggle, allegedly biting one officer on the leg.

“A fucking bite mark, dude,” the officer is heard telling another on camera. “This cunt fuck bit the fuck out of me, dude. I had to punch his ass off of me.”

Officers pulled C de Baca outside, where they placed him on his stomach in the parking lot, shackled his legs, and placed hands and knees on his back. They placed a spit sock over his head to prevent him from biting again, the police report says. An officer began questioning him, presumably for an incident report. C de Baca initially cooperated, giving his name. Then he cried for help.

“I can’t breathe,” he said.

“Anthony, what’s your date of birth?” the officer taking the report called.

“I can’t breathe,” C de Baca repeated.

“What’s your date of birth?” the officer asked again. His colleagues continued placing pressure on C de Baca’s back, pinning his cuffed hands behind him.

“I’m dying,” C de Baca pleads. No one appears to listen. The conversation returns to the bite mark on one of the officer’s pant legs.

“He hit bone?” an officer asked, alluding to the other cop’s penis.

“Always with the jokes,” the bitten officer said, confirming that the bite didn’t break the skin.

The officers were still laughing when they realized C de Baca had gone limp under their hands and knees. An officer shook his arm, then his shirt, attempting to rouse him. The “spit sock” was still over his face.

As police watched the paramedics attempt to revive him, one officer’s body camera showed two officers fist-bumping near the body, apparently in greeting. It was one of several casual gestures that may appear insensitive in the immediate aftermath of C de Baca’s death. Later, two different officers are seen discussing the man’s death.

“You alright?” one officer asked another several minutes after C de Baca’s pulse stopped.

“Yeah, I’m good, dude,” the second answered. “I fucking hate when people put us in a position like that.”

“No, I’m asking are you OK,” the first asked. “I don’t care about that,” he said in apparent reference to C de Baca’s death. “Are you OK?”

Assed, a lawyer for C de Baca’s family, said conversations suggest a fundamental lack of concern for C de Baca’s life.

“He’s telling him essentially that Mr. C de Baca has passed, and he’s like ‘I don’t care, I’m asking how you’re doing,’” Assed told The Daily Beast. “It’s really telling if you look at that particular part of the video.”

Assed said C de Baca’s family is preparing a civil suit against the three police departments involved in the arrest. But Assed said his primary concern is not the officers’ attitude on camera, but their treatment of C de Baca during what should have been a routine arrest.

“I’m really more concerned about why they hogtied him, dragged him out, placed him face down with three guys kneeing him in the back,” Assed said. “A guy is screaming for his life saying he can’t breathe and that he’s hurting, and then they claimed to put a spit sock on him for what reason I have no idea, because it doesn’t prevent anything.”

The use of the spit sock in C de Baca’s death is central to claims that the officers mishandled his arrest.

Spit socks are intended to prevent individuals from spitting at officers, but are not meant to prevent the person from biting, or to impair their breathing. But C de Baca’s case was unusual. Police placed the sock over his head after he allegedly bit an officer.

The spit sock was mesh, with a “thick cotton portion,” a sergeant reported during an investigation into C de Baca’s death. During C de Baca’s arrest, the spit sock’s cotton had covered C de Baca’s “face, nose, and mouth,” while the mesh bunched up around his forehead, the sergeant told investigators, adding that “he had not seen a spit sock used in that fashion before.”

An independent report by the New Mexico Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that an “improperly placed” spit sock has the potential to suffocate a person. The examiner wrote that they could not rule out suffocation as a contributing cause in C de Baca’s death.

“They used it in a different fashion than in the training I hope they received,” Assed said. “I doubt they received any training. If there was training, it certainly wasn’t consistent with how they used it.”

The Bernalillo Police Department, which placed the spit sock on C de Baca’s head, did not return a request for comment. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, a separate entity from the Bernalillo Police Department, outlines a standard spit hood policy in their officer manual.

“When Deputies are faced with prisoners who spit, have spat, or indicate they are likely to spit, the following procedures will be followed,” the document reads (PDF). “No other methods will be utilized to control or prevent this action. The Transportation Hood will only be used to deter spitting and will NOT be used for any other purpose.”

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s officer manual also outlines policies that could have saved C de Baca’s life. Police are required to pay special attention to individuals displaying signs of cocaine psychosis, which medical examiners identified as a contributor in C de Baca’s death.

“Deputies will seek immediate medical attention for the prisoner if signs or symptoms of cocaine psychosis, excited delirium or positional asphyxia are observed,” the manual reads.

The manual also warns against placing a handcuffed person on their stomach.

“Deputies must guard against leaving the individual or allowing the individual to go to the chest down position as this could cause Positional Asphyxia,” the manual says. The police sergeant who told investigators that the spit sock had been misapplied also said that he instructed officers to not to place C de Baca on his stomach, a suggestion that went ignored.

While law enforcement’s internal investigation into C de Baca’s death found no criminal intent by the officers involved, charges might still come from a district attorney in New Mexico’s Sandoval County.

David Foster, an attorney with New Mexico’s 13th Judicial District told The Daily Beast that the incident was under investigation, but could not comment on the nature of the ongoing probe.

But Assed said the family planned to sue all three police departments for wrongful death. The pending lawsuit will likely address the officers’ apparent lack of training about the spit sock, in addition to their overall conduct during the arrest.

“They placed it in a way that I believe wholeheartedly contributed to Mr. C de Baca’s death,” Assed said. “To place him on his face and place that spit sock on him, with three people on him, it’s ridiculous. It’s crazy."

Andrea

12-09-2016, 09:57 AM

UPDATE: 4 EPD officers suspended; termination recommended for 3

http://www.courierpress.com/story/news/crime/2016/11/04/state-police-investigating-claims-against-epd-officers/93282382/ (http://www.courierpress.com/story/news/crime/2016/11/04/state-police-investigating-claims-against-epd-officers/93282382/)

Four Evansville police officers were suspended without pay following improper use of force during an arrest Oct. 29, Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin said at a press conference Friday.

Three officers were investigating a garage burglary in the 700 block of Florida Street early Saturday morning and arrested Mark Healy, 36, of Evansville. The case report indicates officers used force, so an on-duty motor patrol sergeant reviewed materials and reported the officers’ actions were justified.

On Monday, further review by another supervisor led to a formal investigation, which found information in the case report was inconsistent with what was shown on body camera video.

The case report claims Healy was running from police when an officer caught him and Healy poked the officer in the hand with a used, open syringe. The syringe allegedly contained liquid methamphetamine. The report also claims Healy struggled and pulled away from officers when they tried to handcuff him.

Body cam video released by police Friday contradicts the affadavit. It shows Healy was handcuffed without incident and an officer searching him poked his hand on a needle in Healy's pocket. The video, taken from the body camera worn by the officer who was poked, appears to show that officer throwing Healy to the ground and yelling at him.

The video is obscured and dark for about 18 seconds after Healy is thrown to the ground and later shows an officer holding his hand over Healy’s mouth and shaking the man’s head. Three officers were on-scene when this happened.

"Two officers are seen using force on Mr. Healy, while verbally insulting and screaming at him," Bolin said during the press conference. "The third officer watched the incident, but did nothing to intervene or stop the actions of the other officers."

Evansville police held a press conference related to three officers being suspended after involvement in use of force investigation.

The probable cause affidavit filed in the investigation indicates the three officers at the scene were Nick Henderson, Mark DeCamps and Marcus Craig. When asked to confirm the names, Bolin said he would have to wait for the Evansville Police Merit Commission, a civilian board responsible for final actions on discipline in the department, to release the names of the suspended officers and sergeant.

The three involved officers were suspended for 21 days without pay after the formal investigation was completed Thursday, with a recommendation that they be fired. The sergeant who initially reviewed the report was also suspended 21 days without pay, with a recommendation to the Merit Commission that he be demoted.

The three involved officers and the sergeant were placed on paid administrative leave Monday until the formal investigation was completed Thursday.

“Multiple department policy violations were discovered during the investigation,” Bolin said during the press conference.

At one point, Healy is taken out of handcuffs so he can turn out his pockets and take off the sweatshirt he is wearing over a t-shirt.

In the video, officers yell at Healy and ask him if there are more needles, then threaten him multiple times.

One officer says, “I’ll [expletive] shoot you in the [expletive] back if you run,” and another says, “I’m going to beat the holy [expletive] out of you again.”

The Evansville Police Department manual states deadly force – using firearms, for example – is only legally justified “when necessary in the defense of a member’s own life” or another person’s life, or “when necessary to prevent the escape of a felony suspect whom the member has probable cause to believe poses a significant threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others.”

Video shows another officer arriving and speaking with the three officers on scene. That officer has not been identified.

On Friday morning, Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle said his agency was asked to look into the case by Evansville police officials. Taking on such a request requires the approval of state police superintendent Doug Carter, which was granted Thursday, according to Ringle. He did not know when police department officials first asked state police to look into the incident.

"Typically," Ringle said, "when another agency requests that our agency investigate an incident, it's simply because there is a possibility of criminal charges being filed or that there had been some sort of crime that may have been committed."

The next regularly scheduled Police Merit Commission meeting is November 14. Police have indicated they will not release further information or comment on the case again before the meeting.

Andrea

12-13-2016, 10:50 AM

Unarmed man, 73, shot and killed by police in California

http://www.kcra.com/article/unarmed-man-73-shot-and-killed-by-police-in-california/8494248 (http://www.kcra.com/article/unarmed-man-73-shot-and-killed-by-police-in-california/8494248)

Authorities in California say a Bakersfield police officer answering a report of a man with a gun shot and killed an unarmed 73-year-old as he stood in a neighbor's driveway. The man's family says he was in the early stages of dementia.

The Kern County coroner said in a statement that the man, 73-year-old Francisco Serna, was declared dead at the scene about 1:15 a.m. Monday.

Police Sgt. Gary Carruesco tells KBAK-TV and the Los Angeles Times that police had arrived about 12:30 a.m. and when a witness pointed to Serna, one officer fired several rounds and killed him.

Carruesco said no gun was turned up in a search of the scene.

Serna's son Rogelio Serna tells the Times his father was a retired grandfather who didn't own a gun. He says he was suffering from delusions and other early signs of dementia.

Andrea

12-13-2016, 04:19 PM

Cops Allow Police Dog to Bite Naked, Unarmed Man

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/Cops-Allow-Police-Dog-Bite-Naked-Unarmed-Man-406122445.html?cid=sm_tw&_osource=nbcnews_twitter (http://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/Cops-Allow-Police-Dog-Bite-Naked-Unarmed-Man-406122445.html?cid=sm_tw&_osource=nbcnews_twitter)

The NBC4 I-Team has obtained police body cam video — never before seen publicly — that shows cops allowing a canine to bite a naked, unarmed man, including for over 40 seconds after officers had him pinned to the ground.

Attorneys who’ve seen the video say it amounts to excessive force, and raises questions for all police departments about how they use canines.

The initial police call came out around 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday in August 2015. Patrol officers with the San Diego Police Department were asked to check on the welfare of a naked man screaming and running through a canyon in University City, a San Diego suburb near La Jolla, according to police reports obtained by the NBC4 I-Team.

It took some time for the officers to locate the man hiding in a rustic canyon area surrounded by homes and a high school. Officers believed the man was under the influence of a controlled substance, which the man later admitted to NBC4 was true.

In the police video, you see officers asking the naked man to walk up the hillside toward them. He complies with their commands until he gets to the top of the canyon.

You hear the officers ordering the man to "turn around, turn around." He says "no" several times in a defiant voice.

Just two seconds later, and without warning, the K9 officer gives his police dog the command to bite the subject.

The dog takes down the man immediately. Then four officers pinned the man to the ground, but allowed the dog to violently bite the man’s leg for 44 more seconds. Other San Diego Police Officers hold the subject down and cuff him.

"It wasn’t necessary to use the dog to begin with and it sure as hell wasn’t necessary or needed or appropriate to let the dog continue to bite," said noted civil rights attorney Donald W. Cook.

The NBC4 I-Team watched the video with Cook, who has represented hundreds of people bitten by police dogs over a 30-year career. He does not represent the man in the police video.

"It’s barbaric," he said.

The man, a 25-year-old businessman in San Diego for a convention, told NBC4 he ended up naked in that canyon after a night of hard partying.

"I take some responsibility because I was under the influence," said the man, who asked not to be named. "But nothing justifies the cops used of such force," he said.

Added attorney Cook, "It’s not just a San Diego problem. It’s a problem in any department where they’re letting a dog attack and bite non-dangerous suspect."

Cook, along with a group of other attorneys, sued the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1990s after another video of a police dog biting an unarmed suspect was released to the public. The City of Los Angeles settled that suit for $3.6 million and agreed to "revamp its policy for the use of force by dogs."

"The number of bites went way down," said Cook.

Despite his concerns, Cook says that police dogs can serve an important role in law enforcement, such as sniffing for bombs or finding hidden, armed suspects.

"But not to attack and mutilate people like you see in the video," said Cook.

San Diego Police Department policy states "if possible, give at least two warnings in a loud and clear manner" before allowing a dog to bite.

But the video shows that no warning was given and the K9 officer wrote in his official police report that, "due to the immediate threat I did not have an opportunity to give K9 warnings."

He went on to say that he believed the man "posed an immediate threat to officers due to the fact he was clinching his fists and walking towards them."

He also states that the subject "was under the influence of a controlled substance and was very agitated with officers."

Cook says that after watching the video he didn’t see any threatening behavior from the unarmed man toward police. And after reading the officers reports, he doesn’t believe they were justified in using the dog and says the force was excessive.

"Not only excessive, but animalistic," said Cook. "In this case, you had your subject, you had him surrounded. All you had to do was simply take him into custody."

The man in the video wasn’t charged with any crimes, and he sued the City of San Diego for excessive force. In the legal complaint, his attorney says the officers "acted with unnecessary, cruel and despicable conduct and in wanton disregard for the civil rights, health and safety" of his client.

In the city’s legal response, they wrote, "At all times, the conduct of the defendants was reasonable, lawful, based on probable cause and within the scope of their official duties and employment."

Last week, the San Diego City Council approved a $385,000 settlement.

But the man, who asked not to be named, told NBC4 by phone the incident has left his right leg partially and permanently disabled. "No dollar amount is worth having a disability for life," he said.

The NBC4 I-Team wanted to speak with the San Diego Police Department about this case and their procedures regarding the use of dogs. They declined to speak with us. The San Diego City Attorney didn’t respond to our request for an interview.

The man in the video told NBC4 that he was in the hospital for two weeks. He says the injuries sustained during the bite will cost him the full use of his right leg for the rest of his life.

Cook hopes the release of this video will change San Diego Police Department policy and make other law enforcement agencies take a hard look at their policies and practices on how they use canines.

"The officers seem oblivious to what we as the viewer can see in the video, which is this is horrific," said Cook. "How can you let this go on for so long?"

WARNING: This video is extremely graphic and disturbing. It includes footage of a police dog biting a subject’s leg until blood and other injuries are visible. We have not blurred the dog bite portion of video in this version. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. If you wish to see the full video, click here.

Andrea

12-18-2016, 08:20 PM

Two Alameda County Deputies Fired Over Suspect Beating

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/12/18/two-alameda-county-deputies-fired-over-suspect-beating/ (http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/12/18/two-alameda-county-deputies-fired-over-suspect-beating/)

Two Alameda County sheriff’s deputies seen on surveillance video beating a man with batons in San Francisco’s Mission District have been fired.

Alameda County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly says deputies Paul Wieber and Luis Santamaria are no longer with the Alameda County sheriff’s office as of 5 p.m. Friday.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/2gZVXDt) Kelly could not provide details on their departure, but Michael Rains, an attorney for Santamaria, said the deputies were fired for their role in the Nov. 12, 2015, beating.

The deputies were caught on surveillance video striking Stanislav Petrov more than 40 times with steel batons after a 38-minute car chase from Castro Valley and a foot chase into a dark alley in San Francisco.

The San Francisco district attorney’s office charged Wieber and Santamaria in May with assault with a deadly weapon, assault under the color of authority and battery. They pleaded not guilty.

Andrea

12-23-2016, 07:22 AM

Texas officer on restricted duty after videotaped arrests

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/12/23/texas-officer-restricted-duty-after-videotaped-arrests/95783018/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/12/23/texas-officer-restricted-duty-after-videotaped-arrests/95783018/)

A white police officer in Texas was placed on restricted duty Thursday after a viral video surfaced on Facebook showing him wrestling a black woman after she called police to report that a man had allegedly assaulted her young son.

Forth Worth Police, who have not released the name of the officer, said they are conducting an internal investigation which also resulted in the arrest of the woman's two teenage daughters. The man the woman accused of assaulting her 7-year-old son was not arrested,

"We acknowledge that the initial appearance of the video may raise serious questions," the Forth Worth Police department statement said in a statement. "We ask that our investigators are given the time and opportunity to thoroughly examine the incident and to submit their findings."

In the video, the officer approaches Jacqueline Craig, who complained to the officer that a man had “grabbed and choked” her son for littering, according to the woman’s relatives. Relatives said that a neighbor grabbed the boy by the neck in an attempt to get him to pick up the trash.

During the conversation, the officer is heard asking Craig, "why don't you teach your son not to litter?" Craig says regardless of whether her son littered, the man did not have the right to “put his hands on him.” The officer says, “Why not?”

The officer engages Craig in a conversation that quickly escalates. He asks why she hadn’t taught her son not to litter. Craig says regardless of whether the boy littered, the man, who is white, did not have the right to “put his hands on him.” The officer says, “Why not?”

As the argument escalates, one of Craig’s daughters tries to push her mother away, but the officer forces Craig and the teen to the ground. He points a stun gun into Craig’s back and then at her daughter when she tries to approach.

Warning: Video contains graphic language

The attorney for the family, Lee Merritt said that the officer "physically, violently, and brutally escalated the situation” and added that the man who allegedly assaulted the 7-year-old should have been placed under arrest.

"She was questioned about why she did not teach her son not to litter,” Merritt says. He said he plans to “request the prosecutor pursue charges” against the man.

Thomas Glover, president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas, looked at the video and told News 8 he is disgusted and disappointed.

“The citizens ought to be outraged, the city council, the mayor, the city manager," Glover told News 8. "Anywhere it happens, it damages the strides we’ve made in bridging the gap, either real or perceived, that persists between the black community and police departments. And this is a big stain."

The video, viewed more than 1.1 million times, was posted on Facebook by a woman identified by The Dallas Morning News as Craig’s niece.

The head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said in a statement Thursday that she’s disappointed the officer is being given 48 hours to prepare a report on the incident.

“This incident and countless others like them demonstrate that for people of color, showing anything less than absolute deference to police officers — regardless of the circumstances — can have unjust and often tragic consequences,” executive director Terri Burke said. “This fundamental injustice is also a threat to public safety.

"If a Black woman in Fort Worth can’t call the cops after her son is allegedly choked by a neighbor without getting arrested, why would she ever call the cops again?”

Andrea

12-23-2016, 08:31 PM

Cop uses Taser on man with Alzheimer's at nursing home 'because he wouldn't go to the doctor'

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/cop-uses-taser-man-alzheimers-9504960#ICID=sharebar_twitter (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/cop-uses-taser-man-alzheimers-9504960#ICID=sharebar_twitter)

Harrowing police body cam footage shows the moment an elderly man was Tasered at a nursing home - 'because he refused to go to the doctor'.

The incident was originally captured in March, but has only just been released to the public.

Video footage shows a 91-year-old man - who suffered from Alzheimer's disease - scuffling with an undersheriff from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office at a Minneapolis nursing home.

In the original report, it suggested that the elderly man had become violent after refusing to get in a car and attend a doctor's appointment.

The man repeatedly bats the hands of officers as they attempt to coax him out of the nursing home and into the vehicle.

In the clip, the man can be seen struggling with officers as they attempt to subdue him, but he breaks free and tries to run away.

One officer tells the man to relax, but he ignores them, prompting another policeman to shout Taser - before deploying the device.

The elderly man then screams in pain before falling to the floor.

The man's family, who do not want to be identified said he died two months after the incident. They believe the Taser incident weakened his heart and led to his passing.

They also claim that the handcuffs used on the 91-year-old broke his wrists.

At the time of the incident, the Minneapolis Police Department confirmed they were investigating.

The elderly man was taken into mental protective custody to keep him from hurting himself or anyone else at the nursing home.

KWCH News reached out to the Ottawa County sheriff after the body cam footage was released.

He said he believed the investigation had been concluded but was unable to speak on camera.

The nursing home has since introduced new policies and have trained staff to handle similar situations.

*Anya*

12-23-2016, 08:40 PM

No, no, no!!!

I can't take it!

Taserig a 91-year old with Alzheimer's. What the living fuck?

Oh my god. Every time that I think that I can't read something worse, I do.

This one particularly kills me.

Doesn't anyone in authority know how to deal appropriately and kindly with a mentally ill or demented person anymore?

Shooting or tasering are the only two options??

I am beyond floored.

Andrea

12-24-2016, 07:50 AM

George Will: When a house is seized and it enriches police

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/23/george-will-when-a-house-is-seized-and-it-enriches-police/ (http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/23/george-will-when-a-house-is-seized-and-it-enriches-police/)

PHILADELPHIA — For Christos and Markela Sourovelis, for whom the worst thing was losing their home, “Room 101” was Courtroom 478 in City Hall. This “courtroom’s” name is Orwellian: There was neither judge nor jury in it. There the city government enriched itself — more than $64 million in a recent 11-year span — by disregarding due process requirements to seize and sell the property of people who have not been accused, never mind convicted, of a crime.

The Sourovelises’ son, who lived at home, was arrested for selling a small amount of drugs away from home. Soon there was a knock on their door by police who said, “We’re here to take your house” and “You’re going to be living on the street” and “We do this every day.” The Sourovelises’ doors were locked with screws and their utilities were cut off. They had paid off the mortgage on their $350,000 home, making it a tempting target for policing for profit.

Nationwide, proceeds from sales of seized property (homes, cars, etc.) go to the seizers. And under a federal program, state and local law enforcement can partner with federal authorities in forfeiture and reap up to 80 percent of the proceeds. This is called — more Orwellian newspeak — “equitable sharing.”

No crime had been committed in the Sourovelises’ house, but the title of the case against them was the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. 12011 Ferndale St. Somehow, a crime had been committed by the house. In civil forfeiture, it suffices that property is suspected of having been involved in a crime. Once seized, the property’s owners bear the burden of proving their property’s innocence. “Sentence first — verdict afterwards,” says the queen in “Alice in Wonderland.”

In Courtroom 478, the prosecutors usually assured people seeking to reclaim their property that they would not need lawyers. The prosecutors practiced semi-extortion, suggesting how people could regain limited control of their property: They could sell it and give half the proceeds to the city. The “hearings” in Courtroom 478 were often protracted over months, and missing even one hearing could result in instant forfeiture.

The Sourovelises were allowed to return to their house only after waiving their rights to statutory or constitutional defenses in a future forfeiture action. Such action was forestalled when their case came to the attention of the Institute for Justice, public interest litigators who never received the “You can’t fight city hall” memo. It disentangled the Sourovelises from the forfeiture machine, shut down Courtroom 478, and now is seeking a court ruling to tether this machine to constitutional standards.

There might somewhere be a second prominent American who endorses today’s civil forfeiture practices, but one such person is “very unhappy” with criticisms of it. At a 2015 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on forfeiture abuses, one senator said “taking and seizing and forfeiting, through a government judicial process, illegal gains from criminal enterprises is not wrong,” and neither is law enforcement enriching itself from this.

In the manner of the man for whom he soon will work, this senator asserted an unverifiable number: “95 percent” of forfeitures involve people who have “done nothing in their lives but sell dope.” This senator said it should not be more difficult for “government to take money from a drug dealer than it is for a businessperson to defend themselves in a lawsuit.”

IJ’s Robert Everett Johnson notes that this senator missed a few salient points: In civil forfeiture there usually is no proper “judicial process.” There is no way of knowing how many forfeitures involve criminals because the government takes property without even charging anyone with a crime.

The government’s vast prosecutorial resources are one reason it properly bears the burden of proving criminal culpability “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

A sued businessperson does not have assets taken until he or she has lost in a trial, whereas civil forfeiture takes property without a trial and the property owner must wage a protracted, complex and expensive fight to get it returned. The Senate Judiciary Committee might want to discuss all this when considering the nominee to be the next attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.

Andrea

12-25-2016, 10:15 AM

NYPD suspends officer who posted Snapchat of Brooklyn family in handcuffs

http://abc7ny.com/news/family-nypd-raids-wrong-home-posts-snapchat-of-them-in-cuffs/1670637/ (http://abc7ny.com/news/family-nypd-raids-wrong-home-posts-snapchat-of-them-in-cuffs/1670637/)

BROWNSVILLE, Brooklyn (WABC) --
A family in Brooklyn is outraged after NYPD officers raided their home, put everyone in handcuffs and then posted a picture of them on social media with the caption "Merry Christmas Its NYPD." The ordeal led to the suspension of an officer.

The Brownsville residents were so upset that not only did they file a report, but they also called 911.

"The worst part was the Snapchats," Kimberly Santiago said. "That's what really got to me."

The photo appeared in the "New York story" feed on Snapchat, which a public collection of photos and videos posted by users in NYC.

Here's a look at the snap:

http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wabc/images/cms/122316-wabc-nypd-snapchat-snap-img.jpg

The photo is under investigation by Internal Affairs, which late Friday said the officer who took the photo has been suspended without pay. The department also said the officers were at the correct address, and had a warrant to go inside the apartment. But they would not disclose why home was being investigated.

"The things that he wrote, it's like, this what you all do?" Santiago said. "If he did that to, picture how many other families he's done that to. And he was the only one standing there watching us."

She said the warrant squad showed up at her apartment around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, and they placed everyone inside the unit in handcuffs during the search.

"Ya'll know that when you came to this house, looking for the wrong person that we don't even know," she said.

She said the officers left after about three hours, and not only did they have the wrong address, but a second picture appeared on Snapchat with the caption "Warrant sweeps Its still a party smh."

"We thought he was texting on his phone," she said. "Because the whole three hours we were sitting here, he was the one standing there. We saw him on his phone, but we didn't think an officer would do that."

The NYPD has declined to name the officer or the squad to which he is assigned.

*Anya*

12-27-2016, 09:05 AM

California man fights DUI charge for driving under influence of caffeine

Attorney for Joseph Schawb, charged with driving under the influence of a drug when his blood test showed only caffeine, calls the charge unheard of

Julia Carrie Wong in San Francisco Saturday 24 December 2016 Last modified on Saturday 24 December 2016 04.02 EST

Caffeine may be the “nootropic” brain drug of choice in Silicon Valley, but an hour’s drive north in Solano County, California, the stimulant could get you charged with driving under the influence.

That is according to defense attorney Stacey Barrett, speaking on behalf of her client, Joseph Schwab.

After being pulled over on 5 August 2015, Schwab was charged by the Solano County district attorney with misdemeanor driving under the influence of a drug.

Almost 18 months later, Schwab is preparing to go to trial. The only evidence the DA has provided of his intoxication is a blood test showing the presence of caffeine.

Shcwab was driving home from work when he was pulled over by an agent from the California department of alcoholic beverage control, who was driving an unmarked vehicle. The agent said Schwab had cut her off and was driving erratically.

The 36-year-old union glazier was given a breathalyzer test which showed a 0.00% blood alcohol level, his attorney said. He was booked into county jail and had his blood drawn, but the resulting toxicology report came back negative for benzodiazepines, cocaine, opiates, THC, carisoprodol (a muscle relaxant), methamphetamine/MDMA, oxycodone, and zolpidem.

The sample was screened a second time by a laboratory in Pennsylvania, according to documents provided to the Guardian, where the sole positive result was for caffeine – a substance likely coursing through the veins of many drivers on the road at any given time.

“I’ve never seen this before,” said Barrett. “I’ve never even heard of it.”

Barrett has filed a motion for the case to be dismissed because the charges were not brought until June 2016 – nearly 10 months after incident. If that motion is denied, Schwab will take his case to a jury on 11 January.

Sharon Henry, chief deputy district attorney for Solano County, said in a statement that her office was “conducting further investigation in this matter”.

“The charge of driving under the influence is not based upon the presence of caffeine in his system,” she added.

Barrett counters that if the prosecution has evidence of a different drug in her client’s system, it should have to provided that to her, based on the rules governing criminal procedings.

“I have not been provided with any evidence to support a theory of prosecution for a substance other than caffeine at this time,” she said. “Nor I have received any statements, reports, etc documenting any ongoing investigation since the [toxicology report] dated 18 November 2015.”

Henry declined to comment further, citing the right to a fair trial.

“It’s really stupid,” said Jeffrey Zehnder, a forensic toxicologist who frequently testifies in court cases. Over 41 years, Zehnder said, he had never seen a prosecution for driving under the influence of caffeine.

“If that’s the case, then they better come and arrest me,” he joked.

Zehnder was informed about the case by Barrett, but has not been contracted to testify on either side.

California vehicle code defines a “drug” as any substance besides alcohol that could affect a person in a manner that would “impair, to an appreciable degree” his ability to drive normally.

Making that case with caffeine would be difficult, Zehnder said, because the prosecutor would have to show that impaired driving was specifically caused by the caffeine and not any other circumstances.

“There are no studies that demonstrate that driving is impaired by caffeine, and they don’t do the studies, because no one cares about caffeine,” he said.

As for Schwab, he just wants this ordeal to be over. In a statement provided to the Guardian by his attorney, he said his reputation had been damaged.

“No one believed me that I only had caffeine in my system until I showed them the lab results,” he said. “I want the charges to be dismissed and my name to be cleared.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/24/california-dui-caffeine-lawsuit-solano-county

Andrea

12-29-2016, 07:43 AM

Video appears to show Fort Worth, Texas police shooting man as he walks away

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-collie-video-appears-to-show-fort-worth-texas-police-shooting-as-he-walks-away/ (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-collie-video-appears-to-show-fort-worth-texas-police-shooting-as-he-walks-away/)

A police dashcam video appears to show a Texas officer shoot a black man as he’s walking away from the officer and not posing any immediate threat.

A lawyer for David Collie released a copy of the video showing the July encounter with a Fort Worth officer and a Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy. The officer and deputy were off-duty at the time and working a security detail together at an apartment complex, attorney Nate Washington said Wednesday.

He said Collie was shot in the back, leaving him paralyzed.

Police at the time were searching for two shirtless black men who they believed had committed a robbery near a gas station, Washington said. Authorities said in a news release they issued at the time that Collie pulled a box cutter from his pocket and pointed it at the officers.

Collie was charged with aggravated assault on a public servant but a grand jury declined to indict him.

Fort Worth police did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment on the incident.

Collie, 33, was walking from work to a friend’s apartment when the officers approached him in the patrol vehicle, Washington said. It was the Fort Worth officer who shot Collie, Washington said, and the video appears to show the officer firing his weapon about 10 seconds after exiting the vehicle and as Collie walked away.

The video was obtained about three weeks ago from the Tarrant County district attorney’s office through an open-records request, Washington said. The attorney said he released the video Tuesday at a news conference at Collie’s insistence because Collie was tired of comments made to his mother by people assuming he must have done something wrong.

Washington said Collie wanted to make clear he “didn’t do anything to threaten an officer.”

Release of the shooting video came just days after the Fort Worth police were in the spotlight over another incident. A cellphone video captured a white Fort Worth officer last week wrestling a black woman to the ground and then arresting her and her two daughters. The officer appeared to be argumentative and escalate the encounter with the woman, who had called police following an encounter between her son and a neighbor. The video has been viewed millions of times.

Andrea

01-02-2017, 06:20 PM

Man shot by Minnesota officer identified as biology teacher

http://www.kcra.com/article/man-shot-by-minnesota-officer-identified-as-biology-teacher/8555162 (http://www.kcra.com/article/man-shot-by-minnesota-officer-identified-as-biology-teacher/8555162)

MANKATO, Minn. —

A man who was fatally shot by a police officer in Minnesota during a struggle at a hotel was identified Monday as a biology teacher from the Minneapolis area.

Chase Tuseth, 33, was shot early Saturday after an officer was called to a disturbance at a motel in Mankato, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed Monday.

Tuseth was a 2008 graduate of Minnesota State University and taught at Tokata Learning Center, an alternative high school in the Shakopee School District. He previously taught for three years at Integrated Arts Academy in Chaska.

"He was an innovative teacher," Tokata Principal Eric Serbus told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "He was always looking for the next and best way to connect with students."

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigated the shooting, identified the officer as 30-year veteran Gary Schnorenberg of the Mankato Department of Public Safety. Schnorenberg is on standard administrative leave, the agency said.

Investigators said Schnorenberg was called to a Country Inn & Suites in Mankato about 4 a.m. Saturday on a report that Tuseth was behind the lobby counter and was throwing things. Schnorenberg encountered Tuseth in a hallway near the pool and, after successfully using a stun gun, was trying to handcuff Tuseth when Tuseth broke free and began hitting and kicking the officer. Schnorenberg fired, striking Tuseth, who died despite attempts to revive him at the scene. Schnorenberg was hurt during the altercation and treated at a hospital.

The Mankato Department of Public Safety does not use body cameras, the state agency noted. No weapons were found at the scene.

Tuseth's uncle, Mark Liptrap of Spokane, Washington, told The Free Press of Mankato that while he does not dispute the possibility that his nephew was intoxicated, he questions why police needed to use deadly force.

"Chase was just a great kid. He was quiet, just polite," Liptrap said.

Tuseth's car was found in downtown Mankato, miles from the motel. Liptrap said he suspects his nephew took a cab or got a ride with friends to the motel because he did not want to drive.

"In one sense, he was trying to be responsible," Liptrap said.

Tuseth's roommate, Luke Mikkola, was out of town when the shooting happened. Mikkola said Tuseth was not a violent person and owned "no weapons, no guns, no knife, no nothing."

Andrea

01-04-2017, 08:02 AM

Video shows North Carolina police officer body-slamming a female high-school student

http://www.businessinsider.com/police-officer-body-slams-female-high-school-student-north-carolina-2017-1 (http://www.businessinsider.com/police-officer-body-slams-female-high-school-student-north-carolina-2017-1)

Andrea

01-04-2017, 09:55 PM

Philadelphia Police Investigating Video Of Officer’s Confrontation With Teen

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/01/03/philadelphia-police-investigating-videos-of-officer-fighting/ (http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/01/03/philadelphia-police-investigating-videos-of-officer-fighting/)

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A video of a police-involved physical altercation with a 16-year-old girl is making the rounds on social media.

Johnnaa Pendleton, 16, says she’s still wearing the scars from that day.

“It’s all right here,” Johnnaa said.

Police were responding to a huge brawl involving 30 to 40 people in the middle of South 54th Street in West Philadelphia on New Year’s Day when eyewitnesses captured the incident.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross says, “The whole incident was just ugly. Police work is not pretty, this would have been a perfect example.”

Ross spoke candidly about the disturbing video saying it doesn’t tell the whole story of what may have precipitated the incident.

“You cannot see the striking portion where the female admits that she struck the officer,” Ross said. “That is not shown or depicted in the video.”

Johnnaa says, “I feel sick. I have a bruise on my face”

Johnnaa claims she never hit the female officer in the face. She says she was backing away when she was violently thrown to the ground and punched.

“As you see in the video, she’s yanking my hair,” she said.

However, CBS 3’s Natasha Brown reports that Johnnaa told police that she did hit the officer.

Johnnaa says, “At the end of the day I’m still a minor and she’s a grown woman and a cop.”

The officer has been pulled from the streets upon an internal affairs investigation.

Andrea

01-13-2017, 09:16 AM

Illinois cops surround and beat black man accused of stealing his own car in violent dash cam video

http://fusion.net/story/380291/police-footage-arrest-lawrence-crosby/?utm_campaign=ThisIsFusion&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social (http://fusion.net/story/380291/police-footage-arrest-lawrence-crosby/?utm_campaign=ThisIsFusion&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social)

Just more than a year after the violent—and ultimately wrongful—arrest of a black graduate student, the Evanston, Illinois, Police Department has released dash cam footage of the incident, which one local politician described as “outrageous.”

On October 10, 2015, Lawrence Crosby, a PhD candidate at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, was pulled over and arrested after he was accused of having stolen the car he was driving, the Daily Northwestern reported. The car, it turned out, belonged to Crosby himself.

In the footage released this week by the EPD, Crosby can be seen exiting his vehicle holding a phone in his upraised hands. When police instruct him to get down on the ground, Crosby begins moving to the front of his car to position himself in front of his own dashboard camera (which can be seen at certain points in the upper lefthand corner of the EPD footage). After not complying with their initial order to get down, Crosby is then grabbed by a group of at least five police officers, kneed until he drops, and—upon hitting the ground—is seen enduring a series of blows from one of the officers.

Officers can heard repeatedly telling Crosby to “stop resisting” while he is being tackled. As he is detained, Crosby tells the police they are on video, before calmly explaining who he is, and that the car belongs to him. He later begins arguing with the officers over whether his Fifth Amendment rights apply in this situation.

Off camera, the woman who initially called the police to report the possibly stolen vehicle is heard explaining her call.

“I feel really, I feel really, like, I didn’t mean to racial profile” she tells the officer, who replies that “he’s got a different issue going on right now.”

Speaking with CBS Chicago, Crosby’s attorney, Timothy J. Touhy, explained that his client was then taken to the police station and charged with “two criminal offenses, for which Lawrence had to stand trial and was acquitted.” Crosby is currently suing the city of Evanston, as well as the officers involved in his arrest, for false arrest and excessive force. EPD officials declined to comment on that lawsuit for the network, although CBS Chicago reports they are currently on full duty.

In a preamble to the dash cam footage, Evanston Police Department Sargent Dennis Leaks acknowledges that Crosby was given “some empty handed strikes to the heavy-muscle region” while on the ground, and that upon review by EPD officials, “it was determined that the force used in this incident was in compliance with our procedures as it pertains to this type of situation.”

Nevertheless, Crosby’s arrest has prompted a number of procedural changes within the department. In his introduction, Leaks went on to explain that “we will no longer require subjects to be proned [sic] during these types of stops.”

“We acknowledge and realize that there are some problematic issues that come with that,” Leaks continued. “Locations of the stop, weather conditions, and it gives a bad perception.”

Local alderman Brian Miller told CBS Chicago that the footage was “one of the most outrageous acts I’ve seen from our officers so far.”

“For two years, I’ve been talking about a pattern with the Evanston police officers not de-escalating minor incidents where it didn’t have to lead to arrest or (other charges),” Miller reportedly said during a city council meeting earlier this week. “If our police officers took a moment to step back and examine the circumstances and de-escalate situations we wouldn’t have these types of situations.”

According to the website Evanston Now, a number of changes to EPD policy and procedures are scheduled to be unveiled by city officials at an upcoming Evanston Human Services Committee meeting.

Andrea

01-14-2017, 10:27 AM

Police probe: Veteran Lowell cop struck handcuffed student

http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30724363/police-probe-veteran-lowell-cop-struck-handcuffed-student (http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30724363/police-probe-veteran-lowell-cop-struck-handcuffed-student)

LOWELL -- Patrolman David Pender, a 28-year veteran of the Lowell Police Department, will soon learn if he keeps his job after an internal investigation found the officer used unnecessary force in an altercation involving a 16-year-old student at the Lowell High School Career Academy.

The 87-page report, obtained through a public records request by The Sun, has been forwarded to City Manager Kevin Manager who will decide what disciplinary action should be taken against Pender.

The report details an incident that took place on Sept. 15, 2016 at the Career Academy on Smith Street, a grade 9-12 school for youths with behavioral problems.

Pender is said to have handcuffed a student behind his back and ordered the room cleared of any possible witnesses before grabbing the 16-year-old boy by the neck, striking him in the head, and threatening to spray him with Mace.

Lt. Greg Hudon, officer in charge of the Professional Standards Division, conducted the probe.

Pender, a school resource officer (SRO) at the Career Academy, will not be criminally charged, said a spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

Police Superintendent William Taylor apologized to the student and his family, on behalf of the city. Murphy called the incident "unfortunate and serious."

The incident unfolded during the mid-afternoon hours when the student was suspected of having a bag of marijuana in his pocket.

"Due to the fact that Officer Pender ordered the room cleared, this writer is left with only two witnesses, Officer Pender and (redacted). Officer Pender cannot offer any plausible explanation as to the origin of the marks and bruises," on the victim, Hudon wrote in his report.

"This fact, coupled with (redacted) statements and the additional medical records and photographs and text messages to his aunt, leaves this writer to draw the following conclusion: Based on all available information, this writer finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the allegation of misconduct is sustained, based on the following violation of the rules and regulations of the Lowell Police Department:"

* Prohibited conduct -- unnecessary force, "or the use of more physical force than that which is necessary to accomplish a proper police purpose."

The victim told police that when Pender "released his throat" he "slapped him on the side of his head" and threatened to spray him with Mace "if he didn't shut his mouth."

By all accounts, Hudon wrote, the youth was argumentative, challenged Pender's authority and at one point challenged the officer to arrest him.

"These words do not rise to the level of assaultive behavior or resisting arrest requiring the application of any additional force," Hudon wrote.

The report also includes Pender's account, taken from the officer's arrest report.

Pender wrote the student refused to empty his pockets and became "loud and confrontational." The officer said the student raised his hand to his chest and refused to put it hand down. Noting the student's "agitated state," Pender said he feared the student might assault him.

"I asked school staff to step out of the office area," Pender wrote in the arrest report. "He continued to be loud and disrespectful demanding me to arrest him."

Pender declined to comment through Officer Francisco Maldonado, president of the Lowell Police Association, the union that represents police officers. Pender is union vice president.

Sgt. David Peaslee, the officer in charge of all SROs, had warned SROs about conduct based on an September 2015 incident at a South Carolina school. A school resource officer in Columbia threw female student to the floor when she refused to stand and leave the classroom. A video went viral. The officer was fired.

In the Oct. 29, 2015 email, included in Hudon's report, Peaslee wrote:

"My take on this incident? We lose. A police officer, with his/her gun, spray, PR24 (baton), badge, etc., is always going to look bad on film whenever we attempt to arrest a juvenile student. Protect yourselves. Do not lose your career over a misdemeanor arrest. Act appropriately and attempt to de-escalate every situation. And above all, it is your decision to make an arrest. Not the principals' or house master decision. Summons is always our best option."

Peaslee told Hudon the practice of clearing a room arose as a result of the South Carolina school incident. The practice can be useful because the problem child will not "have an audience to play to."

Clearing a room does not include "clearing security officers or other personnel that would be in a position to help the officer," Hudon wrote. "Sergeant Peaslee expressed he would never want an officer to be in a position of being alone in a room with a student where a misconduct allegation could be made."

In a statement, Taylor said: "I am disappointed in the officer's actions during this incident. The student's behavior was a contributing factor in this event; however, once the student was placed under arrest without incident, the student was subjected to unnecessary force. The entire school community trusts the Lowell Police to care for all students professionally and appropriately. In this incident the officer violated that trust. The student was held accountable by the juvenile justice system; likewise action will be taken to hold our personnel accountable. As superintendent of the Lowell Police Department I have apologized to the parties impacted by the officer's misconduct."

Said Murphy: "This is a very unfortunate and serious situation and the city will take appropriate action." Murphy added he'll make a decision by the middle of next week.

Pender, who earns nearly $87,000 a year, was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 11.

The Sun reported at the time that DA Ryan was conducting her own investigation. It's unclear precisely why Ryan chose not to pursue criminal charges, but DA spokesman Meghan Kelly said in an email: "While we do not speak to specific investigations when no criminal charges have been filed, there are many reasons why an investigation may not have led to charges. This includes, primarily, our assessment as to whether we have sufficient evidence to sustain our high burden of proof."

However, a Dec. 12 email from Katharine Folger, chief of the DA's Child Protection Unit, to Hudon, a copy of which was acquired by The Sun, said the boy's father "steadfastly maintained" he did not want to pursue criminal charges.

Pender was arrested by Lowell police on New Year's Day in 2013 at his Lowell residence on domestic assault and battery charges. He was immediately placed on paid administrative leave by Kenneth Lavallee, then police superintendent.

Pender's wife declined to press charges. City officials disciplined Pender with 10 punishment days, working for no pay.

Pender was also one of seven Lowell police officers who were accused of sexually harassing a female colleague during an off-duty bus trip to a political rally in Boston in October 1998. Then-City Manager Brian Martin suspended Pender for a year without pay. Pender appealed to the state Civil Service Commission and was successful in reducing his punishment to six months.

Andrea

01-14-2017, 10:31 AM

Guard Arrested After Beating Of Handcuffed Prisoner Is Caught On Video

Guard Arrested After Beating Of Handcuffed Prisoner Is Caught On Video (Guard Arrested After Beating Of Handcuffed Prisoner Is Caught On Video)

A New Mexico corrections officer is facing criminal charges after authorities say he was caught on video beating a handcuffed prisoner at an Albuquerque jail.

The video appears to show an officer, identified as Christopher Facey, 26, attacking and repeatedly punching inmate Joe Garcia, 38.

The incident occurred in late November in a holding room at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

“The first reaction to the video was that the incident shouldn’t have happened to begin with,” Jail Administrator Thomas Ruiz told Albuquerque’s

According to court documents, the graphic video shows Facey lunge at Garcia, who is wearing handcuffs strapped to leg shackles, wrap his hand and arm around Garcia’s head and drive “Garcia’s body into the concrete floor.”

Facey, authorities said, can then be seen punching Garcia several times. When the prisoner falls to the floor, the officer continues the assault and kicks Garcia before dragging him into a room off-camera. Facey is accused of then kicking Garcia in the head.

“The kick was similar to how a person would make a run-up type kick to a soccer ball,” the court documents say.

The assault continued, authorities said, until other officers intervened.

The court documents claim Facey called Garcia a child molester prior to the assault. The inmate reportedly responded with racial slurs.

Joe Garcia was wearing handcuffs when he was assaulted, court documents say.

Bernalillo County Public Information Officer Nataura Powdrell-Moore told The Huffington Post that Garcia was in jail on charges of criminal damage to property and battery. The disposition of his case remains unclear.

Facey was booked Thursday on charges of kidnapping and aggravated battery. According to Albuquerque’s KOB 4 Eyewitness News, he was released from jail after posting $10,000 bond.

The officer is still employed by the Metropolitan Detention Center.

“Officer Facey is on paid administrative leave right now, pending the outcome of an investigation by the Office of Professional Standards,” Powdrell-Moore told HuffPost.

Facey has been employed by the Metropolitan Detention Center since September 2010. Powdrell-Moore said he received “force response to resistance” training from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office last year.

“We just regret that that has happened because we know it violates public trust, and we apologize for that,” Ruiz told KRQE News.

*Anya*

01-14-2017, 10:38 AM

Police probe: Veteran Lowell cop struck handcuffed student

http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30724363/police-probe-veteran-lowell-cop-struck-handcuffed-student

It's not bad enough that he did this to a kid in handcuffs but he also committed domestic violence against his wife and has a history with his cop buddies of sexually harassing a colleague.

What a prize for the police force.

I particularly like that he still has his job and is paid $87K a year while on administrative leave.

Ain't America great?

Andrea

01-24-2017, 03:15 AM

St. Paul police officer charged with assault, accused of punching handcuffed 14-year-old

http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/23/st-paul-police-officer-charged-with-assault-accused-of-punching-handcuffed-14-year-old/ (http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/23/st-paul-police-officer-charged-with-assault-accused-of-punching-handcuffed-14-year-old/)

Prosecutors charged a St. Paul officer with assault Monday, saying he punched a 14-year-old girl twice in the face when she was handcuffed in the back of a squad car.

The teen had spit in Officer Michael Philip Soucheray II’s face, according to the criminal complaint charging him with a misdemeanor.

Officers were trying to get the girl from an emergency shelter to a hospital because she was reported to be suicidal but was refusing to go, the complaint said. After Soucheray struck the teen with a closed fist, causing her pain, he grabbed the girl “by the jaw and/or face/neck area,” the complaint said. He then called her a “(expletive) bitch,” the court document continued.

Police Chief Todd Axtell placed Soucheray, 38, on paid administrative leave Monday. A police spokesman said they can’t discuss the reason due to state law.

An internal affairs investigation was opened the day after the incident, and the police department asked the Dakota County sheriff’s office to conduct a criminal investigation.

The case was then referred to the Minneapolis city attorney’s office, to avoid a conflict of interest, and they charged Soucheray on Monday with fifth-degree assault.

Soucheray’s attorney, Peter Wold, said in a statement Monday that “this charge is based on a self-defense reaction to a screaming, threatening subject immediately after she had committed a felony assault on Officer Soucheray by intentionally spitting her saliva into his face. Officer Soucheray pushed her away by striking her with such little force that not even a mark appeared on her in the booking photo of her taken within an hour of the incident.

“Officer Soucheray reacted with reasonable force,” Wold continued. “Officer Soucheray regrets the attention this political reaction may bring to his fellow officers at the St. Paul Police Department and does assure them that he will defend himself vigorously against this unfortunate action.”

POLICE RESPONDED TO SHELTER FOR GIRLS

The incident occurred Dec. 1 when officers Chris Rhoades and Soucheray were called to a report of a 14-year-old girl who was possibly suicidal at an East Side shelter for girls, Brittany’s Place. Soucheray tried to talk to the teen, but she refused to answer, the complaint said.

Based on the girl’s behavior, she was going to be transported to a hospital, but she didn’t want to go and “became agitated,” the complaint said. A decision was made that the officers would take her “because she was refusing to go with an ambulance and because she was being uncooperative,” the complaint said.

When Soucheray told the girl that police would be taking her, the girl said she was not going and officers handcuffed her. They escorted her to a squad car, and the teen was screaming and crying.

The girl refused to get in the squad. Rhoades told the teen that if she didn’t, she would be dragged, and the girl went limp, the complaint said.

Soucheray went to the other side of the squad, pulled the girl by the arm into the vehicle and sat her up. The officers tried to put a seatbelt around the teen, but she was resisting, the complaint said. At one point, the girl stood up, turned toward Soucheray and spit in his face.

The location where the girl was coming from is an emergency shelter for girls 10- to 18-years-old who have been sexually exploited, said Dan Pfarr, president and CEO of 180 Degrees, of which Brittany’s Place is a program.

“We have a long working relationship at Brittany’s Place with the St. Paul police,” Pfarr said. “They’re very critical in us keeping the girls safe. The girls have a lot of trauma they’ve experienced, and there are problematic behaviors that occur. The police are well aware of it and are trained. … We do expect them to maintain their composure under stress, and they do, they have. We believe this is an isolated incident.”

When the incident was brought to Pfarr’s attention, he knew it needed to be reported immediately to the police chief.

“We felt we could go directly to Chief Axtell because we knew he would respond appropriately, and he has,” Pfarr said.

The case also came to the police department’s attention through their regular review of use of force, said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman.

Soucheray is summoned to appear in court March 16.

At the time of the incident, police arrested the girl on suspicion of fourth-degree assault on Soucheray, and she was brought to the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center. The day after her arrest, based upon the evidence presented by St. Paul police investigators, the Ramsey County attorney’s office said they declined to charge her.

Pfarr said Monday that the teen “was initially pretty upset and had some physical marks, but she is doing well.”

POLICE CHIEF EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT

Axtell told the police department in an email Monday that it disappointed him an officer’s actions would lead to criminal charges, saying that “(a)s a department, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards.”

In a public statement, the police chief said: “The St. Paul Police Department is committed to serving the city of St. Paul with the highest levels of professionalism. As the department has demonstrated time and time again, when incidents occur that do not meet those standards, swift and decisive action is taken to hold ourselves accountable.”

The department is aware of the charge against Soucheray, Axtell said, but couldn’t comment on the allegations because of Minnesota employment laws.

“We understand the public’s interest in receiving timely, factual answers to questions about this matter, and the department will provide as much information as possible once state law allows us to do so,” Axtell said. “In the meantime, we will respect the legal process and let it play out before commenting further or taking any additional actions.”

After the police department opened the internal affairs investigation Dec. 2, Soucheray was assigned to an administrative role that didn’t include patrol, Linders said. Rhoades is not the subject of an internal affairs investigation, according to the police department.

There is squad video of the incident, but the police department considers it part of the criminal case and won’t be releasing it while the case is underway, Linders said.

Soucheray has been a St. Paul officer for seven years.

He’s been disciplined three times in the past. He received a written reprimand last year for a preventable squad crash; an oral reprimand for a preventable squad crash in 2014; and an oral reprimand in 2012 for failing to attend a scheduled court trial, according to police department records.

Dave Titus, St. Paul Police Federation president, said he suspects the department won’t proceed with the internal investigation until the criminal aspect is complete.

“We’re very disappointed that charges are moving forward,” Titus said. “Mike Soucheray is an outstanding officer with a very good reputation, and the East Side (where he was assigned to patrol) benefits from his work ethic.”

Andrea

01-25-2017, 07:40 AM

Mpls. officer charged for firing at car

http://www.kare11.com/news/crime/mpls-officer-charged-for-firing-at-car/392183144 (http://www.kare11.com/news/crime/mpls-officer-charged-for-firing-at-car/392183144)

MINNEAPOLIS - A Minneapolis police officer has been charged following a November incident in which he allegedly shot at a car full of people after it accidentally struck his squad car.

Efrem Hamilton, 42, of Minneapolis, has been charged with second-degree assault and intentional discharge of a firearm.

According to the criminal complaint, Minneapolis police were called to a fight with shots fired near 408 Third Ave. N. around 2:15 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2016. The officers responding to the scene put out over the radio that a gray, four-door Cadillac may be involved and it was going the wrong way on Third Ave.

Officer Hamilton was off-duty, working at the PourHouse (10 S. Fifth St.) when he heard the shots fired call. He drove to the scene to assist, but never radioed that he was responding, according to the complaint.

As other officers were stopping the Cadillac, a woman driving a dark BMW was following the instructions of officers to back her car down Third Ave. While doing that, Officer Hamilton parked in the middle of Third Ave. The woman backed her vehicle into Hamilton's car.

The complaint states Hamilton jumped out of his car and, without giving verbal commands, fired a shot, striking the BMW. Six people were in the car. No one was injured.

"Police officers have a difficult job," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. "Yet, in this case, Officer Hamilton fired a shot at a car full of people just three seconds after getting out of his car. This is unacceptable behavior by a police officer, endangering the lives of innocent people."

Hamilton's first court appearance has not yet been set.

Two people suffered gunshot wounds in the original shots-fired call. The incident was a result of 30-40 people fighting in the area of 400 Third Ave. N.

Andrea

01-27-2017, 08:07 PM

Phoenix police release body-camera footage of man's death in custody; sister calls for justice

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/01/26/phoenix-police-release-body-cam-footage-mans-death-custody-sister-calls-justice-muhammad-abdul-muhaymin/97111164/?hootPostID=6ae2012e930da0ddf61697d99d1c7fce (http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/01/26/phoenix-police-release-body-cam-footage-mans-death-custody-sister-calls-justice-muhammad-abdul-muhaymin/97111164/?hootPostID=6ae2012e930da0ddf61697d99d1c7fce)

Phoenix police on Thursday released body-camera footage that captured the moments before the in-custody death of a transient man earlier this month.

The release came as the sister of Muhammad Abdul Muhaymin and a handful of activists gathered at Phoenix police headquarters to call for justice in his death.

Muhaymin, 43, was pronounced dead at the hospital on Jan. 4, just after he had gone into “medical distress” after being restrained by officers at a west Phoenix community center.

The footage is raw; laced with profanity, shaky, and emotionally jarring to watch. But the video and other body-camera recordings are increasingly offering the public a window into critical police encounters only witnessed by bystanders in previous generations.

Phoenix police body-camera footage from Jan. 4, 2017, of the situation involving Muhammad Muhaymin at the Maryvale Community Center. azcentral.com

Police initially were called to Maryvale Community Center on a report that Muhaymin had been acting erratically. A caller to police said that Muhaymin had pushed an employee at the center, but later information revealed that the employee had blocked Muhaymin's way into the restroom and the two bumped into each other.

Officers are heard telling Muhaymin there was a warrant for his arrest, and ordering him to put down his small dog, which was in his arms. This appears to upset Muhaymin, and visuals become more difficult to follow as officers appear to wrestle him to the ground.

“Now you’re going to be going for a felony now, dumb---,” one officer remarks.

Muhaymin can be heard wailing and appears to be struggling as the officers attempt to restrain him.

“I cannot believe this,” Muhaymin says after he appears to have been carried out to a police car. It is at this point that more police arrive for backup.

On the day of Muhaymin's death, a police spokesman said officers were forced to use two sets of handcuffs to bind his arms behind his back. Still, he managed to bring his hands over his head so his arms were in front.

In the video, police continue to struggle with Muhaymin outside of the car until it becomes apparent that he is unresponsive. The officers then attempt to resuscitate him and call for an ambulance.

Video released as police investigation continues

In a written statement, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams explained the decision to release the video.

“In keeping with the spirit of transparency and positive communication with our community and our employees, we are releasing the body worn camera footage obtained during our contact with Mr. Muhammad Muhaymin from January 4th.

“This investigation remains active. We have a duty to protect the integrity of the investigation, however, in this particular case, we do not believe the release of the body worn camera video will jeopardize our ability to complete a thorough and accurate investigation.

"As with any critical incident, we will always review and learn from what has transpired.”

As with other law-enforcement documents, the release of body-cam footage is often a tightrope walk between police transparency and protecting privacy and ongoing investigations.

Police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said Phoenix police largely follow the guidance of written public-records policies, like redacting personal information such as an individual’s phone or Social Security number.

In the video, several of the witnesses’ faces are blurred, and personal information is muted.

Policy also allows a more subjective public-records exception for “information that by its very nature is so gross, demeaning, biased, or sensitive that it would do irreparable harm to innocent persons or their character if released.”

Police appear to have tapped into this portion of policy and redacted certain portions of footage when Muhaymin had vomited, shortly before his death.

'He was a good person, and this should never have happened'

Mussallina Muhaymin, Muhaymin’s sister and legal guardian, spoke to reporters about her brother Thursday morning outside of police headquarters in downtown Phoenix.

Mussallina Muhaymin, flanked by her attorney and civil-rights activists from Black Lives Matter Phoenix, called for justice for her brother.

“He was a person,” she said, stressing the word “person.” “A person that was well loved, and well established in the community of Maryvale. He was a good person, and this should never have happened.”

Mussallina Muhaymin’s attorney, David Chami, said the family is still seeking answers in the case and still considering legal options.

A Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office representative said the official cause and manner of death in Muhaymin’s case is still pending.

Chami said Muhaymin’s arrest warrant was for failure to appear in a Mesa case involving possession of drug paraphernalia.

10 officers involved in the confrontation

Phoenix police on Thursday released the names of the officers involved in the incident, in order of their moment of contact: Oswald Grenier, 17 years experience; Jason Hobel, 17 years experience; Ronaldo Canilao, 15 years experience; David Head, 21 years experience; Susan Heimbigner, 20 years experience; Kevin McGowan, 19 years experience; James Clark, 23 years experience; Dennis Leroux, 14 years experience; Ryan Nielsen, 12 years experience; Steven Wong, 16 years experience.

Criminal and internal investigations for all of the involved officers are ongoing, Howard said. All were placed on administrative leave and now are back on duty.

At least one of the officers has been accused of excessive force before.

McGowan was fired by then-Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner after an incident in which surveillance footage showed him stomping on a teenage suspect who had already surrendered. The incident knocked out three of the suspect’s teeth.

But in August 2015, four months after he was fired, McGowan was reinstated by the city’s Civil Service Board. He was reassigned to the patrol division the next day.

Andrea

01-27-2017, 08:49 PM

FAMILY OF JARON THOMAS SEEKS ANSWERS IN HIS DEATH

http://goblackcentral.com/2017/01/family-of-jaron-thomas-seeks-answers-in-his-death/ (http://goblackcentral.com/2017/01/family-of-jaron-thomas-seeks-answers-in-his-death/)

On January 14, 2017, 36-year-old Jaron Thomas called for help, as he had done several times before by the advice of mental health professionals. Jaron had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and struggled with hallucinations. He was a gifted hip-hop lyricist, having at one point worked with well-known artist Bizzy-Bone. He knew that he needed help and had calmly asked for a medic on the 911 call obtained by the family. He expected to be admitted for treatment, in his home town of Columbus, Ohio, but the response he received instead was from officers with the Columbus Police Department. It is unclear what transpired, but the result was inexplicable injuries and brain damage.

Surrounded by his close-knit family and a host of loved ones and friends, this loving father of 3 fought for his life. He lost the battle on January 23rd, roughly one week after his brutal and tragic encounter with police. Click here for official press release from the family’s legal team Walton + Brown, LLP, who is also representing others looking for answers from CPD (including the families of Henry Green and Tyre King).

The family has set up a campaign to raise funds for an independent autopsy and to help support their private investigation into this matter. Local media and the police department have been absolutely silent, while the family has pushed hard on social media to get the word out.

According to experts and an article in The Washington Post, “Distraught People, Deadly Results,” officers often lack the training to approach the mentally unstable. “This a national crisis,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, an independent research organization devoted to improving policing. “We have to get American police to rethink how they handle encounters with the mentally ill. Training has to change.”

In addition to the lack of training, policies around how police report these incidents are loose and don’t paint an adequate picture of the widespread nature of this issue.

*Anya*

02-13-2017, 08:04 PM

Mayor Cancels Reality Police TV Show As Footage Shows Rampant Racial Profiling

Matt Agorist February 13, 2017

Tulsa, OK — A new reality TV show following around cops has been canceled and kicked out of Tulsa after residents said they were too scared to leave their homes for fear of being caught on this show.

The new A&E show, with its unimaginative title and copycat premise, LIVE PD, claims that it “offer viewers unfettered and unfiltered live access inside the country’s busiest police forces and the communities they patrol in the new documentary series.”

According to the show’s own description, they planned to target poor communities using urban and rural police forces around the country. The police, obviously ecstatic about being able to harass people on TV, have made some busts but they’ve also been caught in ridiculous and infuriating moments of racial profiling.

Pandering to producers, the Tulsa police department reportedly took to the same neighborhood for every episode and harassed entirely innocent people. After being unnecessarily harassed to bolster ratings and promote the police state, residents finally had enough.

On Sunday, after a clip of the show epitomizing the rampant profiling went viral, the mayor responded by terminating the contract with A&E.

“Gt Bynum look at the comments here, please. Every week people post about how they can’t leave their homes for fear of being caught on this show. Please get A&E out of Tulsa,” one Facebook user wrote. To which the mayor responded, “I spoke with Chief Jordan about this last week and he confirmed our agreement with them has been terminated. I am not a fan.”

Just as the reality show COPS, which started in 1989, was used to bolster the police state and promote the immoral war on drugs, LIVE PD appears to have set out to do the same.

No one here is denying that police arrest criminals. However, using substances arbitrarily deemed illegal by the state, like cannabis, police officers lay waste to the rights of the citizens in their proactive shakedowns waging the drug war.
Below is a clip from the show that was posted to Facebook which epitomizes the center of this controversy. In the clip, a clean-cut middle-aged black man is openly harassed for wearing “gang clothing” because his polo shirt is blue.

While being harassed, the man explodes at the officer, who is apparently so used backlash from profiling and harassment that he doesn’t even bat an eye. The man was getting something out of his trunk and this officer decided it was grounds to question him.

While some may feel that the show being canceled is a good thing, unfortunately, it does nothing to stop the problem. The mayor’s move to cancel this show was likely done out of embarrassment as it seems has no plans to stop the harassment — off camera.

This harassment, although it is not on TV, takes place in poor communities across the country day in and day out. At least LIVE PD was showing Americans what it looked like.

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/mayor-cancels-tv-cop-show/#HyCqaWTxuwDALGrp.99

Andrea

02-14-2017, 09:41 PM

Lawsuit: Woman died after being left unattended for hours in jail

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/lawsuit-woman-died-after-being-left-unattended-for-hours-in-jail/493832683 (http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/lawsuit-woman-died-after-being-left-unattended-for-hours-in-jail/493832683)

ATLANTA - A family said their loved one died in the Atlanta City Jail, where she was being held for a minor crime, and it took hours for anyone to find her.

Records show Wickie Bryant was booked into the Atlanta City Detention Center in Sept. 2015 after police arrested her for disorderly conduct. Bryant suffered from schizophrenia and diabetes, among other health issues.

Mildred Sims, Bryant’s sister, said Bryant was then moved into a jail cell in an area of the jail where lights had not been on for years.

“It's really, really painful,” Sims told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne. “If it wasn't for our faith, we wouldn’t be able to get through this.”

“She was only in there for a misdemeanor,” attorney Stephen Fowler said.

Bryan left the jail almost exactly one month later on a covered stretcher. Now, that misdemeanor case has morphed into a federal suit alleging wrongful death.

“We want justice for her. I am speaking on behalf of her. I am her voice,” Sims told Winne.

The suit says, “Ms. Bryant died alone in an unlit cell, where her body remained for several hours before anyone even noticed that she died.”

“They found Ms. Bryant dead in a dark, unlit cell,” said attorney M.J. Blakely.

“Ultimately Ms. Bryant suffered from diabetic ketoacidosis, which essentially happens when a diabetic patient or individual does not receive the medications they need to survive,” Fowler said.

The suit alleges Bryant, “consistently declined treatment, but no mental health professional evaluated her decision-making capacity, and no one ever referred her to a physician.”

“Not once did she see a doctor,” Blakely said.

Bryant’s attorneys said written jail policy requires a doctor referral for an inmate who refuses medication twice.

“Does it say how that referral will happen?” Winne asked Fowler.

“It does not,” Fowler said.

The attorneys said the policy lacks clarity and checks and balances, and didn’t help Bryant, though she refused medication several times.

The suit alleges at one point, Bryant became agitated and an officer moved her to another cell “in an area where the lights had not functioned for years, making it extremely difficult to see detainees.”

“This is not the place you house anyone, especially somebody who's suffering from mental illness and whose health care condition is declining,” Blakely said.

An email from a city spokesperson said the city cannot comment on a case that is in litigation.

The city did, however, provide a copy of its investigation, including video, after our open records request.

The file shows disciplinary action against a number of people who were in jail for rules violations.

Andrea

02-17-2017, 08:37 AM

Federal Judge: Cops Have Power to Make You Crap In Your Pants

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/federal-judge-cops-have-power-to-make-you-crap-in-your-pants-7900187 (http://www.ocweekly.com/news/federal-judge-cops-have-power-to-make-you-crap-in-your-pants-7900187)

Did a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer violate a female motorist's constitutional rights by repeatedly blocking her access to an Orange County bathroom while she fought a losing battle against a rapid onslaught of diarrhea?

For Toni Antonellis, a well-respected San Diego food entrepreneur, and Aaron Rothberg, a CHP officer who once worked on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's protection detail, that question isn't hypothetical.

Fate placed Antonellis and Rothberg together before noon on the southbound 5 freeway near El Toro Road on June 18, 2014. Earlier that day, Antonellis attended a food vendors' event in Ventura County, then while driving through Costa Mesa, she began to feel severe gastric pain.

"I started having stomach cramps and thought something was off," she recalled in court proceedings. "I had eaten some food that I don't typically eat, as a courtesy to my fellow vendors, and I started breaking out in a sweat. I knew that I needed to use the bathroom."

However, traffic not only was moving below the speed limit, but also had formed a wall across lanes, blocking her from speeding ahead. Desperate to bypass the obstruction, she illegally entered the HOV lane, accomplished her plan, crossed over double yellow lines and re-entered normal traffic so she could exit at Alicia Parkway.

That's when Rothberg, who'd left an event teaching grade-school kids to respect law-enforcement officers, stopped her on the off-ramp after activating his vehicle's lights and siren. Antonellis said she was in an emergency situation and needed to immediately visit a nearby Wendy's restroom. According to a video recording of the encounter, she told the officer, "I'm going to shit my pants if you don't let me get into a bathroom right now."

Rothberg refused to believe her, though, in a later deposition, he conceded Antonellis had appeared frantic. CHP officers routinely hear half-baked stories designed to avoid citations and none tops a bathroom excuse for violating California's vehicle code, he testified. So, he treated her as a liar.

"I'm really sick," she reiterated. "I just need to go to the bathroom."

Though it obviously doesn't take paramedic assistance to empty one's bowels, the cop sarcastically asked Antonellis if he should summon an ambulance, a delay that would put her in additional misery. He then demanded to inspect her driver's license, registration and insurance paperwork. After she complied, the officer returned to his vehicle.

"Antonellis waited and waited and waited, silently suffering with an increase of cramping and intestinal distress," Keith H. Rutman, her attorney, told U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna. "Relief in the form of a nearby, clearly visible bathroom made matters worse. After she overheard dispatch verify that her license was valid and she was not subject to any warrants, she leaned her head out the window and told Rothberg, who still had all her documents, that she could not wait any longer without losing her bowels on the spot, that she was going to drive her car to the restroom and he could meet her there, where she would sign the citation and retrieve her documents."

On the verge of disaster, Antonellis drove toward Wendy's. The officer gave chase, ordered her out of her Lexus and, again, ignored her pleas. He claims he had to consider potential possibilities: Was this wealthy, attractive, middle-aged woman with a valid ID a dangerous killer fleeing a bloody crime scene? Or was she a Mexican-drug-cartel mule hauling weapons and cocaine? Allegedly fearing for his life, he placed her in handcuffs.

Now restrained and weeping, Antonellis' willpower gave way to a messy reality. She soiled herself. Rothberg then locked her in the back of his patrol car, where she experienced a second round of diarrhea. Her cries for help were ignored, she claims. She also says the officer mocked her distress. After nine minutes, Rothberg removed the handcuffs, handed her two $500 citations and told her to "have a nice day."

The feces-stained back seat of his cruiser cost taxpayers $150 to clean.

Driving back to San Diego wearing a towel, Antonellis—the co-owner of Green Bellies, a nutrition company specializing in providing healthy food for children, as well as a café at a San Diego museum—called a CHP supervisor to threaten legal action. Rothberg appeared at the Harbor Courthouse in Newport Beach 16 days later to dismiss both citations, but not as an act of kindness. He elevated the case to criminal, seeking charges that she'd resisted arrest and obstructed him from performing his duties. A judge issued an arrest warrant after a CHP internal investigation asserted that the agency was "unable to substantiate" the allegation that the officer "exhibited poor judgment."

According to Rutman, the tardy charge was brought "for the sole purpose of dissuading Antonellis from filing a civil lawsuit against officer Rothberg and retaliating against her for indicating an intent to do so, as CHP was on notice that was her intended course of action. . . . Rothberg fabricated a version of events to support his plan. The allegations in the reports he prepared and presented are false and untrue."

Tony Rackauckas' scandal-scarred Orange County district attorney's office (OCDA) sided with the officer and took the case to trial, hoping to put the defendant in jail over the bathroom fiasco. The jury was not impressed by the government's arguments. Eight of the 12 jurors voted for acquittal. Antonellis then filed a civil-rights lawsuit inside Santa Ana's Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse in early 2015. She claimed she'd been humiliated, subjected to unreasonable seizure, denied due process and was a victim of excessive force.

In response, then-Attorney General Kamala Harris—now a U.S. Senator—defended Rothberg's conduct and claimed he deserved immunity for his conduct because he is a cop. "There is no body of clearly established law that would inform a law-enforcement official that he was violating a driver's constitutional rights if he did not release a driver who had committed a traffic violation simply because she said she needed to go to a bathroom," Harris' agency argued in November 2016 to support its contention the case should end before a jury could consider its merits.

Late last month, Selna—a 2003 President George W. Bush lifetime appointee to the federal bench—agreed with the AG's office, granting summary judgment in favor of the cop. "A jury could not find that officer Rothberg's actions, viewed in the light most favorable to Ms. Antonellis [my emphasis], were objectively unreasonable," Selna opined.

Rothberg told the Weekly his client hasn't decided whether or not to appeal the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Meanwhile, Selna isn't alone in his outlook. In 2011, North Carolina police officer William Wright refused bathroom access to a detainee and encouraged her to "pee on herself," which she was forced to do twice. U.S. District Court Judge Graham C. Mullen, who won his judicial appointment thanks to the backing of Senator Jesse Helms, declined to see the incident as "egregious, arbitrary government conduct" because the nation's Founding Fathers didn't proclaim a specific constitutional right to use a bathroom while in police custody.

"While officer Wright certainly may be guilty of breaching the unwritten standards of human compassion and common decency," Mullen asserted, "he cannot be said to have breached a recognizable duty of care."

Ponder the implications of public servants not bound by even the lowest thresholds of honorable conduct.

Andrea

02-18-2017, 09:42 AM

After officer charged, Amtrak shooting detailed: Cop 'assumed a crouched firing stance'

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-amtrak-shooting-charges-20170217-story.html (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-amtrak-shooting-charges-20170217-story.html)

An Amtrak police officer just 18 months on the job was charged with first-degree murder for fatally shooting an unarmed man fleeing after being stopped over his suspected possession of marijuana, Cook County prosecutors said Friday.

The officer, LaRoyce Tankson, unholstered his service weapon, "assumed a crouched firing stance" and fired once as the victim was about 75 to 100 feet away and running at full speed, prosecutors said.

The victim, Chad Robertson, 25, was shot in the back of his shoulder, according to the medical examiner's office. He had been in Chicago for only about a half-hour Feb. 8 while on a stopover at Union Station waiting on a bus to Minneapolis.

Late Friday afternoon, Tankson, 31, was released from Cook County Jail on $250,000 bail and was shielded from reporters by uniformed officers as he ducked into an unmarked police vehicle and was driven away. Prosecutors had sought to hold him without bail.

The officer's lawyer, William Fahy, said Tankson opened fire "in defense of himself and others" after seeing Robertson reach his left hand toward his pocket while turning toward the officer as he ran away.

Tankson "really believed he was about to be shot," Fahy said. "That's not first-degree murder, judge."

Fahy said a small amount of marijuana was found on Robertson, a father of two who lived in Minneapolis.

Prosecutors said none of six witnesses to the shooting in the 300 block of South Canal Street saw Robertson gesture or turn toward the officer. In addition, Tankson's partner did not see a weapon or anything else in Robertson's hand and never opened fire himself, according to prosecutors. No weapon was found on Robertson, they said.

Chad Robertson, 25, shown with his family, was shot by an Amtrak police officer in Chicago on Feb. 8, 2017, near Union Station. Robertson died Feb. 15, 2017, according to a Chicago police spokesman. (Family photo)

After the bond hearing, Robertson's family, who have filed a federal lawsuit over his death, blasted the bond as far too low and said police too often falsely claim they feared for their lives in fatal shootings.

"How many times are they going to keep saying that that was why they're killing us?" Robertson's sister Nina told reporters at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. "It's unfair, it's unfair, and it's an injustice."

"They shouldn't be able to shoot people for running away," said Robertson's father, Leroy Martin. "They shouldn't be able to shoot people like that."

Another sister, Laniesha Taylor, questioned why Tankson didn't give chase instead of opening fire so soon.

"You didn't think to go after maybe your Taser or even chase him like cops used to do?" she said. "You didn't take a step to try to run, and that's what breaks my heart the most, that you didn't even try and without a thought in your mind killed my brother."

Fahy said Tankson is married to a Chicago firefighter and has three children. His mother, he said, is a "career law enforcement" officer. Before becoming an Amtrak cop 18 months ago, Tankson worked as a locomotive engineer for eight years, according to Fahy.

Following the shooting, Amtrak said the officers had been placed on administrative assignment, standard practice following a shooting. On Friday, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said that status remained unchanged after the filing of murder charges against Tankson. He could not say if Tankson continues to be paid by Amtrak.

The charges came little more than a week after the shooting, and the charges marked the second time in State's Attorney Kim Foxx's three months in office that a police officer has been charged with murder.

Veteran Chicago police Officer Lowell Houser was charged last month with first-degree murder in the shooting of an unarmed man with whom he had an ongoing feud during an off-duty incident Jan. 2. Fahy, who also represents Houser, said the officer acted in self-defense after the victim, Jose Nieves, threatened to shoot him and reached toward his waistband. In a decision criticized by many veteran lawyers, Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Houser freed on bond on electronic monitoring without posting any money.

Prosecutors said Robertson arrived in Chicago on Feb. 8 on a bus from Memphis. The driver dropped him and two other passengers at Union Station at 8 p.m. so they could stay warm as they waited to catch another bus to Minneapolis.

About 8:30 p.m., Tankson and his partner were on patrol outside the station when they caught the three smoking marijuana, according to Assistant State's Attorney Ahmed Kosoko. The group stopped smoking at Tankson's request and Robertson apologized, Kosoko said.

The three were allowed to leave and walked to a nearby restaurant to wait for their 9:45 p.m. bus.

But moments later, the officers again approached and ordered the three to stand against the glass wall of an elevator shaft attached to a parking garage on Canal Street, Kosoko said. Prosecutors said Tankson had no reason to think the three had done anything wrong other than possess marijuana.

As Tankson began patting down Robertson, he took off running, prosecutors said.

Fahy told the judge that Tankson's partner had felt a "hard metallic object," possibly a gun, while patting down one of Robertson's companions. When the partner asked, "What's this?" Robertson ran, Fahy said.

Fahy said that "thousands of dollars" in cash were recovered in baggage that belonged to the group and that Robertson had been acting "suspiciously" and was resisting being patted down.

But the Robertson family lawsuit, filed in Chicago on Tuesday, alleged that Tankson and his partner illegally detained Robertson and his companions and began to conduct illegal searches of them.

Tankson was "very aggressive, disrespectful and again used a great deal of profanity during the illegal search," the suit said.

The suit alleged Robertson "feared for his life" and took off running.

According to the suit, Tankson "calmly dropped to one knee, removed his gloves, unsecured his weapon" and opened fire.

Tankson announced no commands, saying only, "It's a gun out. It's a gun out," according to the suit.

The officer handcuffed the collapsed Robertson as "he lay in the street clinging to life," the suit alleged.

The shooting left Robertson paralyzed, and he died a week later, at 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to the medical examiner's office.

At the courthouse, Robertson's family said Tankson opened fire without justification.

"He had dreams and aspirations," Nina Robertson said. "I'm devastated. I'm devastated that his life was taken."

Andrea

02-19-2017, 07:56 PM

Cop filmed telling motorist he wanted to beat him, sic dog on him

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/02/cop-filmed-telling-motorist-he-wanted-to-beat-him-sic-dog-on-him/ (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/02/cop-filmed-telling-motorist-he-wanted-to-beat-him-sic-dog-on-him/)

v=LvkCRNlM-Mg

A days-old viral Facebook video shows an angry New Jersey cop yelling at a young motorist. The police officer says he wants to knock the motorist "the fuck out" and sic his 90-pound police dog on him—in what appears to be retribution for the man filming the officer. Because of the video, taken by one of the two motorists pulled over in Atlantic City, the officer has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Following the publication of the 80-second video, which has more than 400,000 views, Atlantic City Police Chief Henry White called for an internal affairs investigation. The men involved in the traffic stop have been neither identified nor arrested. The incident is being investigated solely because it was recorded. This is another example of how the YouTube society—in which people are constantly filming each other and their surroundings with mobile phones—is altering the criminal justice system.

"Take that phone and stick it out of my face. I'm not gonna tell you again," the officer tells one of the motorists who is filming him. The officer then becomes enraged.

"Calm the fuck down," the officer yells at the two men, one of whom calmly replies "yes, sir."

"I guarantee you, that 90-pound dog is going to come out and rip the fuck out of you," the officer shouts. In response to one of the men filming the officer, the cop says: "Put your hand in my face and I'm going to knock you the fuck out."

The cop also says:

"We'll step out and bang. I got no fucking problem. You're under unlawful detention. You're not allowed to have your cell phone. You understand? You're not allowed to use it. You can turn yours off right now... "

The video ends.

The authorities declined to say why the men were pulled over. In a statement, the police agency said:

The Atlantic City Police Department is aware of a citizen-filmed video that is circulating on social media. Chief Henry White has ordered the Internal Affairs Section to begin an immediate investigation into the incident. The language and tone used by our officer in the video is concerning and is not condoned by this department. The officer involved was wearing a body-worn camera which will be reviewed by detectives.

The Atlantic City Police Department values our interactions with our residents and visitors. We have worked hard to gain the trust and confidence of the community by becoming part of the community with many of our programs such as Pizza with the Police and Coffee with the Cop. Our officers are involved in neighborhood walks and events that educate the community on the role of police officers with our Civilian Police Academy and Juvenile Police Academy.

Days before the video surfaced, meanwhile, another Atlantic City police officer was arrested on aggravated assault charges in connection to his girlfriend's beating.

Andrea

02-24-2017, 10:04 AM

Tell the DA: Indict the LAPD cop who shot at a 13-yr-old boy

https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/indict-lapd-cop/ (https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/indict-lapd-cop/)

Orange County is proving to the world once again that police are above the law.

An off-duty LAPD officer is shown on video forcefully grabbing and dragging 13-year-old Christian Dorscht, after he stood up for a girl the officer called a "cunt" and yelled to get off of his lawn. And when other children try to help him, the officer pulls out his gun and fires a shot into the crowd. If that isn't upsetting enough, what happens next is even worse: when police show up, they let the officer--who still hasn't been identified--walk free, but arrest Christian and another 15-year-old boy with charges of "battery and terrorist threats." It's a combination of white vigilante and police violence terror--and it's horrifying.

Hundreds of people poured into the streets in protest to demand the officer be charged. The Anaheim Police Department posted a statement that they are working on an investigation--but the power rests with the District Attorney's office. And technically, after an investigation, the DA's office could still charge the children that were terrorized on that day. That's why we're demanding that Orange County DA, Tony Rackauckas, immediately indict the officer--and refuse to prosecute any of the children involved. Will you sign the petition?

Below is the letter we'll send on your behalf:
Dear Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas:

The video of a grown man physically assaulting a 13-year-old boy after calling a little girl a "cunt" is beyond upsetting. But what makes it even worse is the fact that he is a police officer, sworn to protect the community. Any person who fires a gun, while forcefully grabbing a child, should be held accountable under the full extent of the law. And the people deserve to know who that person is. Police are not exempt.

I join Orange County residents in demanding that you indict this unnamed officer, release his name, and refuse to prosecute any of the children involved. It is unacceptable that two children were arrested and charged, while this officer has walked free. We are counting on you to set things right and stand up for justice.

Thank you,

[Your name here]

Andrea

02-24-2017, 11:39 AM

A new lawsuit alleges the city's police stopped thousands of black and Latino residents for no reason

https://news.vice.com/story/milwaukee-cops-sued-over-allegedly-racist-stop-and-frisk-program (https://news.vice.com/story/milwaukee-cops-sued-over-allegedly-racist-stop-and-frisk-program)

The American Civil Liberties Union slapped the City of Milwaukee with a class action lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that its police officers conduct a “high-volume, suspicionless stop-and-frisk program” that disproportionately targets black and Latino residents. The practice also fuels deep racial inequality in the city’s criminal justice system, which has incarcerated half of the black men in the city, lawyers also argue.

Filed on behalf of six black plaintiffs, the lawsuit contends that in 41 percent of the 33,343 stops that took place between Jan. 1, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2012, Milwaukee police did not record a reasonable suspicion for conducting the stop, required by 1968 Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio. As a result, the practice violates residents’ civil rights under the Fourth and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.

Police first stopped and searched one of the plaintiffs, a minor who wasn’t named, on his way to a playdate at a friend’s house in 2010, when he was just 11, and he has been stopped two other times since, the suit alleges. In one instance, he said, Milwaukee officers warned him to avoid walking through alleyways because it made him “look suspicious.”

Another plaintiff, Alicia Silvestre, a 60-year-old school secretary, was stopped and searched for running a red light, according to the suit. Police then allegedly followed her home, with her 4-year-old granddaughter in the car, came into her house, and searched her handbag, claiming they had evidence she was using heroin. They ultimately left without charging or arresting her. In fact, most people who are stopped are never charged or arrested, according to Nusrat Choudhury, one of the lead attorneys on the case.

“Those who are [charged] often face charges for low-level offenses, like loitering. Low-level arrests and citations can come with fines and fees,” she said. “When people can’t pay, they find themselves trapped in a justice system in which there are too many ways in, and not enough ways out.”

Milwaukee’s Police Department adopted stop-and-frisk in 2008 as part of a “broken windows” policing strategy, wherein officers crack down on minor offenses in hopes of reducing more serious crime. In New York City, stop and frisk was in effect for more than a decade but was phased out in 2013 after a federal judge ruled the way the city was carrying out the program to be unconstitutional.

Attorneys in the case against Milwaukee are challenging stop and frisk on the same constitutional grounds as attorneys challenging New York’s stop and frisk program. Both cases also cite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1968 ruling in Terry v Ohio, which determined pedestrian stops are only constitutional if an officer can claim there was a suspicion that a person was armed and dangerous, based on “specific and articulable facts.”

Six years ago, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn — named as a defendant in the suit — acknowledged to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the city’s policing practices did target people who were not committing crimes. “Yes, of course, we are going to stop lots of innocent people,” he said. “The point is, do folks understand what their role is as a cooperative citizen in having a safe environment?”

As for the current suit, Flynn disputed the ACLU’s characterization of stop and frisk.

“The Milwaukee Police Department has never used the practice of ‘stop and frisk,’” he said in an emailed statement. “No discussion of our crime tactics is complete without reference to the hyper-victimization of disadvantaged communities of color by high rates of crime. But [Milwaukee Police Department] considers it our moral duty to confront violence where it occurs.” Flynn also cited recent police department data from 2016 indicating that nearly 80 percent of homicide victims were black, as were nearly 80 percent of homicide suspects.

Racial inequality in Milwaukee is stark. Half of all black men in their 20s and 30s in Milwaukee Country have spent some time in a correctional facility — 40 percent of them for low-level drug offenses, according to a 2013 study by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Moreover, two-thirds of all incarcerated black men from Milwaukee County came from the six poorest ZIP codes. Wisconsin, as a whole, incarcerates black men at a higher rate than any other state in the country.

There’s no question that crime is a problem in Milwaukee; it was one of the handful of cities that drove up the nationwide murder rate in 2015, according to the most recent available FBI data. But the lawsuit charges that rather than deploy officers to targeted crime “hot spots,” Milwaukee police department instead saturates police districts located in largely black neighborhoods. Residents in one of these districts are therefore more likely to be come into contact with police, which also makes them more likely to be arrested or ticketed for low-level offenses.

“Stop-and-frisk can be part of an effective crime control program, one that focuses on high-crime hot-spots over a period of time, but it can also be a counterproductive tactic,” said Seth Stoughton, a criminal law professor at the University of South Carolina and former Florida police officer. “The constitutional authority to stop someone and, if appropriate, frisk them is a valuable investigative and officer safety tool in individual interactions, but when it is improperly implemented it can increase community hostility in a way that undermines effective policing.”

Milwaukee police conducted nearly 200,000 stops in 2015, almost three times as many stops conducted in 2007 and affecting about a third of the city’s overall population, according to the lawsuit. In spite of this uptick in traffic and pedestrian stops, crime did not go down. In fact, it increased over the last decade, which calls into question the overall effectiveness of stop and frisk practices. Supporters of stop and frisk in New York City voiced concerns that ending the program would cause crime to skyrocket. Violent crime, however, declined in the years after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to end stop and frisk, according to data from the Brennan Center for Justice.

The ACLU’s lawsuit comes as Milwaukee’s police department waits for the Department of Justice to come back to them with a proposed list of non-binding reforms, the outcome of a program their chief opted into.

The ACLU lawsuit seeks improved supervision of Milwaukee police officers, to ensure that they are conducting evidence-based stops. It also seeks the collection of a semi-annual release of stop data, which includes demographic information as well as the basis for the stop. “We are seeking accountability and transparency,” Choudhury said. “It’s a no brainer. This practice must end.”

Andrea

02-27-2017, 05:59 PM

Video shows Tucson police shoving 86-year-old woman to pavement

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/02/27/video-shows-tucson-police-shoving-86-year-old-woman-to-pavement/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.b6b15760c4ad (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/02/27/video-shows-tucson-police-shoving-86-year-old-woman-to-pavement/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.b6b15760c4ad)

The body camera footage of a recent protest against President Trump’s immigration policies in Tucson shows an 86-year-old woman, weighing less than 100 pounds and standing about 4 feet, 5 inches tall, approaching police officers and pointing at them as she shouted indiscernible words.

Then, a police officer appears to push her arm, causing her to fall backward and hit her head on the pavement. As a 65-year-old woman beside her reaches down to help the woman up, an officer pepper-sprays her in the face, temporarily blinding her and causing her to turn away in pain.

The video footage, released Friday by the Tucson Police Department to a local television station, illustrates the tense clashes from the Feb. 16 protest there that began peacefully but soon escalated as protesters reportedly began disrupting rush-hour traffic. Three police officers sustained minor injuries and four protesters were arrested.

Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said the department is investigating but told reporters that he thinks his officers handled the crowd appropriately. Local immigrant rights advocates have spoken out against police conduct at the protest, saying that the arrests were unwarranted and that officers used unnecessary force — particularly against elderly women at the rally. The body camera footage, the rally’s organizers say, “confirms police brutality and repression” of peaceful protesters.

The event, organized to protest recent nationwide deportation raids and in solidarity with the National Day Without Immigrants, began at 4:30 p.m. that day in front of Tucson’s downtown Federal Building. By 6 p.m., at least 80 people had joined the protest — organizers said it grew to 200 people at one point. It “suddenly became a safety and logistical challenge” as crowds began veering off the sidewalks and into the path of traffic, Magnus wrote.

An officer issued an emergency call for assistance, and those on the scene urged protesters to leave the street and return to the sidewalks. “Most of the crowd complied, but a very specific subgroup elected to remain in the road and challenge the directions they were given by the officers,” Magnus said, compromising their safety.

“One of the officers working to get a protester back to the sidewalk was assaulted by that protester,” Magnus said. “When the officer went to arrest this subject and place him in a patrol car for transport, he and the other officers who were assisting him were quickly surrounded by members of the crowd.”

Police arrested David Leon, 24, Joan Cichon, 68, and Tanya Alvarez-Blancarte, 42, in connection with aggravated assault on a peace officer. Najima Rainey, 39, was arrested in connection with obstructing and failure to identify.

Rolande Baker, a retired schoolteacher, was the woman pepper-sprayed. When she saw police arresting Leon, she crossed the street, she said in an interview with The Washington Post.

“I saw the police being way more aggressive than I’ve ever seen them be,” she said. She has been participating in peaceful rallies and protests in Tucson since she moved there in 1987, she said, and has never had any problems with local law enforcement.

She described some of the moments captured by the recently released body-camera footage, obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request by Tucson News Now.

The 86-year-old woman had joined with three other women in locking their arms in front of the police van, blocking it from leaving. After officers unlinked the women’s arms, one pushed her to the ground. Officers then pepper-sprayed Baker in the face.

“Here’s this woman on the ground, and they’re so busy pepper-spraying those who were helping her, they never help her up,” Baker said. “Do we look violent to you?”

The 86-year-old woman, whom authorities have not identified, was not injured, and got back up on her own. Baker, however, was still recovering from the pain in her eyes three days later.

“It’s just terrible,” she said. “Would you do that to your mother? Would you do that to your grandmother? Because I’m about the age of your grandmother.”

Steffanny Cott, a protest organizer with immigrant rights group Lucha Unida de Padres y Estudiantes (LUPE), told the Arizona Daily Star that police overreacted to the demonstration. She said that marchers were going around the police vehicle, and that the officer was revving the engine and the sport-utility vehicle nudged Leon, the demonstrator who was later arrested.

LUPE wrote on a GoFundMe page that at least a dozen people, including two children, a retired teacher, a nurse, and two legal observers were “inhumanely pepper sprayed.” The group wrote that cries of “help me” could be heard as one of the leaders of Tucson Black Lives Matter was pepper-sprayed, pushed to the ground, pulled by her hair, and then dragged to the sidewalk and later into the patrol van where she was arrested.

Baker, along with other protesters present that day, attended a City Council meeting last Wednesday to describe the treatment they received from local law enforcement. City Council members called for an investigation and a meeting between some of the protesters and the police officers, Baker said.

Baker worried about both the “aggressive” behavior of police and a bill that passed the Arizona Senate last week that would subject protesters to anti-racketeering legislation, allowing police to seize the assets of anyone involved in a protest that at some point becomes violent.

“They’re trying to shut us up is what they’re trying to do, in my opinion,” Baker said. “It’s scary that this is all happening at the same time.”

Andrea

03-14-2017, 06:48 AM

Cop Filmed Beating Unarmed Man, Pulling Gun And Ordering Crowd ‘The F**k Back’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vallejo-police-beating-video_us_58c6a7d8e4b0ed71826dfcfa? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vallejo-police-beating-video_us_58c6a7d8e4b0ed71826dfcfa?)

A Vallejo, California, police officer was caught on video repeatedly punching a man with his fists and flashlight before threatening a group of bystanders with his service weapon on Friday.

The officer was responding to a report of a man behaving erratically at a Valero gas station, according to San Francisco’s KRON-TV.

The footage, filmed by a bystander and posted to Facebook, begins with the officer pursuing an unidentified man on foot. Moments later, the man appears to give up and sits on a median strip. The officer then rushes over and forcibly shoves the man, who appears to be unarmed, to the ground.

A brief struggle ensues, during which the man can be heard screaming, “I am God, I am God,” as the officer repeatedly strikes him with his fist and a flashlight. In the video clips below, the officer and others can be heard yelling profanities as a crowd gathers to witness the scene.

“The kid surrendered,” one witness told San Francisco’s KPIX 5 News. “The cop, on the other hand, came right up behind him. He immediately dove on the kid and started whaling on him.”

At one point in the video, someone can be heard yelling “Police brutality!” The officer continues beating the man as a second officer arrives on the scene.

When tensions in the crowd seem to rise, the first officer removes his handgun from its holster and tells everyone to “get the fuck back.” Arriving officers then push the crowd back.

The video appears to show at least one bystander’s arrest. The man the first officer beat was charged with being under the influence and resisting arrest, according to KPIX 5. It remains unclear what, if any, charges have been filed against other people at the scene.

Don Cameron, a police trainer interviewed by KPIX 5 on Saturday, defended the actions of the officer involved in the beating.

“That’s what they’re trained to do,” Cameron said. “When we’re down on the ground, we want to get the person in custody as quickly as we can and we use personal weapons.”

Former Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said that while he agreed with the officer’s initial response, he did not feel a continuous use of force was necessary.

“It does look bad [and] it does appear inappropriate,” Jordan told KPIX 5.

Vallejo police are asking the public to refrain from making judgments until police complete an internal investigation.

“Just like anyone else officers are innocent until proven guilty,” the department said in a statement. “Violence is always ugly but police officers are exposed to violent situations every day and they are required to overcome that violence not just match it. We will investigate this matter and will take the appropriate action if any policy or law has been broken.”

Andrea

03-17-2017, 07:59 PM

Man streams video on Facebook as officers shoot him

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/17/police-shooting-mentally-ill-black-man/99321362/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/17/police-shooting-mentally-ill-black-man/99321362/)

ALAMO, Tenn. — At least one Crockett County sheriff's deputy killed a bipolar black man parked sideways on a ramp to a U.S. highway as the man recorded the shooting on live streaming video.

Rodney James Hess, 36, a New Orleans native who had been living in Texas City, Texas, with his fiancée, was shot at around 2:15 p.m. CT Thursday and was transported to Regional One Health medical center in Memphis where he died.

When deputies responded to the area about 75 miles northeast of Memphis because traffic was being blocked, Hess became "erratic," said spokesman Josh DeVine of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The agency did not say whether investigators found any firearms in Hess' vehicle.

"A Crockett County deputy arrived after drivers were obviously not able to get where they wanted to go," DeVine said. "He then determined that he needed backup. Preliminary information indicates Hess attempted to use his vehicle, his SUV, to strike the officers at least twice."

Hess' videos do not show him attempting to hit the officers who responded though part of the interaction with police does not appear to have been recorded.

Hess recorded two videos on his Facebook page. The first was nearly 20 minutes long and leads up to the confrontation with law enforcement. Hess drives his white SUV around the intersection of Tennessee 88 and U.S. 412 on the overpass, periodically blocking traffic with his car.

“He was not on a suicide mission. He was not trying to harm anybody. He was asking them for help and they shot him down.”
Johnisha Provost, Texas City, Texas

It ends as the first Crockett County deputy arrives and parks near Hess' vehicle.

The second video last about 4 minutes, Hess asks to speak with a commander and drops his phone just before several shots are fired into the SUV.

"He was not on a suicide mission," Johnisha Provost said Friday from their Texas home. "He was not trying to harm anybody. He was asking them for help and they shot him down."

She found out Hess was in trouble when her aunt called her at work to tell her about the Facebook Live post, she said.

"He was on Facebook, and I logged on and I watched it," Provost said.

Hess suffered from bipolar disorder, she said. And she could tell from looking at the videos that he was disoriented and lost.

"He couldn't get his mind together. That's why he asked for a higher command," she said. "I always told him, 'Babe, if you are ever in a situation where you need help, ask the person in charge for the higher command to help you,' and that's what he kept saying."

Hess was in Tennessee visiting his mother, who lives in the Memphis area, Provost said. He had moved to Memphis when he was a teenager and graduated from high school there.

Investigators did not know why Hess was in Alamo, DeVine said.
New Orleans native Rodney James Hess, 36, died March

New Orleans native Rodney James Hess, 36, died March 16, 2017, after a Crockett County, Tenn., deputy shot him on a U.S. 412-Tennessee 88 exit ramp in Alamo, Tenn. (Photo: Courtesy of Johnisha Provost)

"He had been in Memphis for two days after leaving New Orleans," she said. "He was on his way back home to me and his daughter when they killed him."

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is aware of the recording but cannot confirm its authenticity, DeVine said.

"I want people to know he was not a threat," Provost said through tears. "He was a great person, a great dad, a great provider."

They had been together for the past three years.

"He just suffered from mental illness and people need to be aware of how to deal with mental illness," she said. "They could have just shot his tires out or they could have handled it differently. They didn't have to kill him."

Andrea

03-19-2017, 07:15 AM

Appeals Court: Officer Who Shot and Killed Innocent Man in His Own Home Cannot Be Sued

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/03/17/appeals_court_rules_officer_who_killed_man_in_his_ own_home_cannot_be_sued.html (http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/03/17/appeals_court_rules_officer_who_killed_man_in_his_ own_home_cannot_be_sued.html)

Andrew Scott and his girlfriend were playing video games in their Florida apartment late at night when they heard a loud banging at the front door. Scott, who was understandably disturbed, retrieved the handgun that he lawfully owned, then opened the door with the gun pointed safely down. Outside, he saw a shadowy figure holding a pistol. He began to retreat inside and close the door when the figure fired six shots without warning, three of which hit Scott, killing him. Scott hadn’t fired a single bullet or even lifted his firearm.

The figure outside was Deputy Richard Sylvester. He failed to identify himself as a law enforcement officer at any point. He had no warrant and no reason to suspect that Scott or his girlfriend had committed a crime. He did not attempt to engage with Scott at all after he opened the door; he simply shot him dead. And on Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held that Scott’s parents and girlfriend cannot sue Sylvester because the officer’s conduct was not “clearly” illegal.

The court’s reasoning? Qualified immunity, a constitutionally dubious doctrine that bars individuals from suing the government for violating their rights unless those rights were “clearly established.” And what, exactly, constitutes a “clearly established” right? It’s almost always possible to argue the point either way. Consider the events that led up to Scott’s killing. Sylvester had been pursuing a speeding motorcyclist who, he suspected, might be the same motorcyclist who’d recently committed armed assault and battery. (He had no legitimate reason to suspect this particular motorcyclist was the suspect in question.) Sylvester found a motorcycle at Scott’s apartment complex and decided it was the one he was looking for, even though a license plate search revealed no incriminating information. He and three other officers drew their guns and pounded on Scott’s door. When Scott opened it, Sylvester shot and killed him.

A district court granted Sylvester qualified immunity, holding that no “clearly established law” prohibited his actions. A panel of judges for the 11th Circuit affirmed. And on Thursday, the 11th Circuit, sitting en banc, declined to revisit the panel’s decision. In support of this refusal to rehear the case, Judge Frank M. Hull wrote that Sylvester’s behavior was a variation on “the knock and talk rule.” This rule allows officers to enter private property and knock on an individual’s door for “legitimate police purposes.” Hull reasoned that Sylvester had merely engaged in a form of “knock and talk” and that Scott could have simply declined to open his door. Shooting Scott once he did open the door, Hull wrote, did not violate any “clearly established … constitutional rights.”

In dissent, Judge Beverly Martin shattered this sophistry with painful precision. “Under no standard,” she wrote, “was it reasonable for the police to kill Mr. Scott when he answered the knock at the door to his home. He was not suspected of any crime (much less a violent crime) and he was standing inside his own house without threatening them.” The police, she explained “were not engaged in a permissible ‘knock and talk’ when they killed Mr. Scott.” In fact, “there was no talk here. This was a knock and shoot.” Sylvester had no warrant and no reasonable suspicion that Scott had committed a crime. Martin thus concluded that he clearly violated Scott’s Fourth Amendment rights by conducting a warrantless raid and using excessive force.

The most fascinating part of Martin’s analysis centered around Sylvester’s insistence that the shooting was justified because Scott opened the door while holding a firearm. This “conclusion that deadly force was reasonable here,” Martin noted, “plainly infringes on the Second Amendment right to ‘keep and bear arms.’ ” Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in D.C. v. Heller, which affirmed an individual right to handgun ownership under the Second Amendment, Martin wrote:

If Mr. Scott was subject to being shot and killed, simply because (as the District Court put it) he made the “fateful decision” to answer a late-night disturbance at the door to his house, and did so while holding his firearm pointed safely at the ground, then the Second Amendment (and Heller) had little effect.

That seems exactly right to me—and it raises an important point: The 11th Circuit has now effectively found an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights are diminished whenever he chooses to exercise his Second Amendment right to possess a firearm. Unfortunately, the 4th Circuit reached the same conclusion in a dreadful ruling handed down in January. The Supreme Court should step in soon to remedy the contradiction by clarifying that the exercise of one constitutional right cannot diminish the protection of another. This is an area where liberals and conservatives should be in agreement.

Qualified immunity has clearly become a significant problem in the lower courts. Just last week, another federal appeals court ruled that a homeless man had no right to sue the police officer who allowed his dog to maul him despite knowing the mauling victim was innocent. Its rationale? Qualified immunity. The lower courts are stretching the doctrine past its breaking point. Soon, victims of police violence will almost never be able to sue the officers who violate their constitutional rights. If that’s where we’re headed, why even pretend that we hold those rights in the first place?

Jesse

03-27-2017, 05:54 PM

Lawsuit: South Carolina officers shot unarmed man 19 times

Lawsuit: South Carolina officers shot unarmed man 19 times

BY JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/od39u/picture120334153/ALTERNATES/FREE_640/Waltki_1481495844110_7322538_ver1.0

An unarmed man who was chased and tackled by police in South Carolina was shot 17 times in the back by officers as he lay on the ground, according to a lawsuit filed by the man's family.

The officers were trying to arrest Waltki Williams last Dec. 10 after his estranged girlfriend called 911 saying he had pointed a gun at her car at the Sumter Mall, police said at the time.

Williams drove off, but wrecked a short way down the road. He threw an unknown object out a window and started to run, according to the wrongful death lawsuit filed Friday by Williams' sister, Tomekia Kind, against the city of Sumter and its police force.

Several officers tackled Williams and stepped back before at least three of them fired two dozen shots. Williams was struck by 19 bullets, said attorney Carter Elliott.

"I don't know if it gets any more horrible than officers standing over an unarmed man shooting him," Elliott said Monday. He had investigators take pictures of Williams' bullet-ridden body before it was cremated.

Elliott said Kind has seen police video of her brother's shooting and was shocked. The video has not been released publicly as the State Law Enforcement Division is still investigating the killing.

Sumter Police spokeswoman Tonyia McGirt said later Monday that the police agency hasn't been served with the lawsuit. She also said releasing any specific information about the shooting would be inappropriate given the state's ongoing investigation. Nonetheless, she said the police department denies the allegations made in the suit.

In a news release issued shortly after the shooting in December, McGirt wrote that "there was a brief struggle and then an exchange of gunfire."

Little information has been released about the shooting. Carter said Williams was black. The race and names of the officers haven't been made public.

State police have been reluctant to release police shooting videos in South Carolina until cases are closed, even though First Amendment lawyers said there is no exemption to their release under the state's open records law.

They have made exceptions when the videos don't show the shooting itself, such as releasing dashboard camera footage of the traffic stop of Walter Scott, who was shot and killed after running away from a traffic stop in April 2015 by an officer in North Charleston. The former officer is awaiting a second trial on a murder charge.

The Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information Act request Monday for any video footage of Williams' shooting. State police did not immediately respond to that request.

Elliott has not seen the video, but plans to subpoena the city of Sumter and state investigators. The lawsuit does not ask for specific damages.

Solicitor Chip Finney will decide if the officers face charges. He said Monday he has not received the case file from state investigators and had no comment about the shooting or the lawsuit.

About 50 people marched in Sumter asking for justice about two weeks after the shooting.

Andrea

03-28-2017, 07:22 AM

ICE Agent Shot Unarmed Man As He Opened Door

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/03/28/ice-agent-shot-unarmed-man-as-he-opened-door/ (http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/03/28/ice-agent-shot-unarmed-man-as-he-opened-door/)

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal immigration agent shot an unarmed man for no apparent reason as the man answered the door at his Chicago home, a lawyer for the wounded man said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the special agent was attempting to arrest someone Monday morning when a second person pointed a weapon at agents. ICE officials said the special agent fired his weapon, wounding the second person.

But attorney Thomas Hallock told reporters Monday that he heard a different version of events when he visited the wounded 53-year-old man at a hospital. Hallock said he was told the man heard a pounding at his door, answered it and was shot “without cause.” Hallock says the man was not armed.

“I don’t know if there was some sort of mistake,” Hallock said.

ICE officials said Monday its Office of Professional Responsibility will review the shooting and details of what happened weren’t being immediately released. The Associated Press sent an email seeking an update Tuesday from ICE.

Hallock said the man and his wife arrived from Mexico more than two decades ago and are legal residents of the United States. Seven or eight people were in the home at the time of the shooting, he said.

The agency has not publicly named the target of the arrest warrant and it wasn’t clear if that person was detained. Hallock said he is also representing the wounded man’s 23-year-old son, who was briefly detained.

Chicago police officials said their officers responded to the call of shots fired. They said they are investigating any underlying criminal offenses and working with prosecutors and the Department of Homeland Security.

Andrea

04-03-2017, 06:47 AM

VIDEO: Cop who yelled 'I'm going to shoot you in your head!' now under investigation

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/04/video_cop_who_yelled_im_going.html (http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/04/video_cop_who_yelled_im_going.html)

The Portland Police Bureau has opened an internal investigation into the actions of an officer who threatened to shoot a man in the head -- when the man refused to come out of his motor home.

Officer Matt Bigoni also threatened to shoot the man's dog if the dog came out, made a reference to a funeral bell ringing for the man and warned that "bad things are going to happen" if police had to retrieve him from the motor home. Three police officers ended the approximately 25-minute encounter by bursting into the camper, holding the man down, repeatedly punching the man in the face and fracturing the man's eye socket and nose.

Police said 27-year-old Christopher Lee Fish was resisting their efforts to handcuff him and take him into custody on a warrant for violating the terms of his probation for a prior misdemeanor conviction.

Fish caught about 10 minutes of the officer's threats on cell phone video. The evidence turned out to be a key piece of evidence at trial in February.

"Thank God Mr. Fish turned on his phone," said April Yates, a certified law student who represented Fish, in her closing arguments to the jury.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Marshall dismissed a charge of interfering with police, and jurors acquitted Fish of the only remaining charge against him: Resisting arrest.

On March 17, a civil attorney for Fish sent the city a notice of his intent to sue the city for alleged excessive force and lasting psychological damage.

Juror Cheryl Barham told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she's glad to hear that Fish has moved forward with plans to sue. She said the actions of the police officers was disheartening; their testimony during trial was "suspicious" and inconsistent; and it didn't take the six-person jury long to determine that Fish wasn't guilty of the crime charged against him.

"It was shocking to hear and see what they did," Barham said of the officers.

Juror Rachel Siegel said she knows Fish had a criminal record and police had a reason for showing up to take him into custody, but beating him was unnecessary and excessive. Siegel thought Bigoni was escalating the situation of a man holed up in his camper, not de-escalating it.

"The state had a very weak case, and I don't know why they even wasted taxpayer money prosecuting this," Siegel said.

Barham said she is not confident that the police bureau's internal investigation will reach a just conclusion.

"I don't have a lot of faith in those," Barham said. "...I don't want that method of policing to be condoned."

*****

The video

Because the lights aren't on, there's little to be seen on the video that Fish recorded from inside his motor home. But there's much to be heard.

It's about 8 p.m. on Sept. 26, 2016. His motor home is parked near Southeast 122nd and Foster Road. Police had a warrant for Fish's arrest, for failing to meet with his probation officer for an oxycodone conviction and failing to complete domestic-violence counseling for a prior misdemeanor assault conviction.

Fish's recording captures Bigoni threatening to shoot Fish in three separate instances, and threatening to shoot Fish's dog in three separate instances.

The recording begins with Bigoni, the officer, saying "Get your ass out here, Chris. You've got a warrant. You're under arrest. You understand me?"

Bigoni warns: "Put your dog in or we're going to shoot the dog if it comes after me."

The dog is not barking, growling or making any audible noise during any point in the video.

Fish alerts the officers: "You guys are being recorded right now."

Bigoni responds: "That's great."

A few minutes later, Fish still hasn't come out of the trailer and says he wants time to put on his shoes and smoke a cigarette.

"Stop moving your hands around, or I'm going to shoot you!" Bigoni says.

Fish responds: "I'm not doing nothing to hurt you guys."

"Stop moving your (expletive) hands or I'm going to shoot you in your head!" Bigoni says to Fish, before addressing the other officers. "All right. That's it. Pepper. Pepper! Break that window."

A few minutes after that, Bigoni appears to be making a literary reference to a funeral bell, by stating: "Listen to the bell, Chris. It tolls for thee."

The police bureau opened its internal investigation on March 15, more than a month after the trial ended -- and on the same day The Oregonian/OregonLive asked the police bureau about the appropriateness of Officer Bigoni's words.

The news organization also asked about the veracity of the testimony of another officer -- Grigoriy Budey, who said he was holding onto Fish's arm in the darkened motor home but didn't see his colleagues punch Fish.

The next day, Police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson responded to the news organization's questions by saying he couldn't talk about specifics because of the internal investigation. When asked, Simpson said the bureau didn't initiate the investigation because of the news organization's questions, and he couldn't elaborate on what sparked the internal review.

"This is a case about officers who went too far -- officers who escalated a peaceful situation and made it violent," said Yates, the certified law student representing Fish. Yates attends law school at New York University and is interning for the Portland-area public defense firm Metropolitan Public Defender Services.

Deputy district attorney Victor Mercado told jurors that Fish took far too long to get dressed, lied to the police by saying they had found the wrong man and could have ended the entire incident before it got started if he just would have stepped out of the motor home in the beginning.

"His tone in the video is not the tone of someone who is scared," Mercado said. "It is the tone of someone who is flippant, cavalier, defiant."

Mercado offered no defense of Bigoni.

"Let's be clear, Officer Bigoni was unpleasant," Mercado said. "I don't think he comes off well in the video."

*****

Fish's testimony

Fish testified that nearly from the start, Bigoni took a "super aggressive" approach. Fish said he didn't want to step out of the motor home and told the officers they had the wrong man because he feared for his life.

"He (Bigoni) instantly said he was going to pepper spray me. And started making threats. Said he was going to tase me or pepper spray me," Fish said. "I was nervous. I had anxiety and shock."

Asked Yates, the certified law student:

"When the officer threatened to shoot you, did you take his threat seriously?"

Answered Fish: "100 percent. ...I could hear it in his voice. You know when someone's sincere. ...If they mean it, you can feel it."

Fish said when police burst in, he dropped to his knees and put his hands behind his back. Police testified, to the contrary, that Fish flailed about and resisted their attempts to handcuff him -- forcing officers Bigoni and Royce Curtiss to have to punch him in the face seven to nine times.

"Hands down, it's the worst pain I've ever gone through," Fish said.

Once in a patrol car, officers wouldn't bring him to the hospital, Fish said, so he lied by saying he swallowed a baggie of heroin -- knowing they would have to bring him to a doctor. Medical staff scanned Fish and found no heroin baggie, but they did treat him for his broken facial bones.

Fish said physically, he still aches. But he hurts psychologically, too.

"I still take PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) medicine," Fish said. "I still get nightmares. And I don't trust cops."

*****

Police testimony

Jurors who spoke to The Oregonian/OregonLive said the inconsistencies between the officers' testimony was obvious.

Curtiss, the first officer to testify, said he didn't recall Bigoni threatening to shoot Fish or his dog. Curtiss said he only remembers that Bigoni made some sort of threats.

Bigoni -- who was the second officer to testify and was caught on the video recording making the threats -- admitted he'd threatened to shoot Fish and his dog. But upon questioning by the defense, Bigoni said he didn't mention those threats in his police report or tell his supervising officer because he didn't think he had to.

"Purely verbal actions on my part do not constitute a use of force," Bigoni said.

Budey, the third officer to testify, didn't mention anything about Fish being punched by his colleagues during direct examination by the prosecutor. On cross-examination by the defense, Budey said he hadn't seen any punches thrown by the officers while he maintained his grip on Fish's arm -- Budey's head no more than a foot or two away from Fish's face.

Budey said it was too dark to see, but he was able to describe in detail other actions of the officers -- including that Fish was "body slamming" the other officers; that one of his fellow officers lost hold of Fish's left arm and that Budey helped by grabbing it; and that another officer was able to wrench back Fish's right arm so it could be handcuffed.

Photos police took of Fish shortly after they pulled him from his camper show his badly bruised and swollen face -- a stream of blood running from a gash on the bridge of his nose.

Simpson, the police spokesman, said that while the internal investigation is ongoing, the three officers -- Bigoni, Budey and Curtiss -- remain on patrol duty.

The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office also is investigating the case in light of questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive. Jenna Plank, the deputy district attorney who oversees the misdemeanor trial unit, said she couldn't answer specific questions because of the bureau's internal investigation.

Andrea

04-04-2017, 09:20 PM

New Recording Paints Damning Picture of Cops Who Shot Charles Kinsey

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/charles-kinsey-was-shot-after-a-north-miami-cop-called-halt-it-is-a-toy-9254204 (http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/charles-kinsey-was-shot-after-a-north-miami-cop-called-halt-it-is-a-toy-9254204)

Moments before North Miami police officer Jonathan Aledda shot unarmed behavioral therapist Charles Kinsey this past July 18, another cop on the scene warned there was no gun, only a toy.

After the shooting, an assistant chief repeatedly lied to the chief, and the city manager Larry Spring ignored vital evidence.

Moreover, the crime scene was mismanaged, and the police department and city government were in disarray and plagued by infighting

Those are among the stunning revelations in an hour-long audio recording of North Miami Police Chief Gary Eugene's interview with Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators, which was obtained by New Times Tuesday.

The shooting in the leg of Kinsey, who was caring for an autistic man, became a national flashpoint in the Black Lives Matter movement thanks to cell phone footage that showed him with his arms in the air, lying on the ground and begging police not to shoot just before he was hit.

The revelations in Eugene's interview raise a burning question: Eight months after the shooting and four months after state investigators closed their probe, why has Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle still not charged anyone involved?

"We are very close to coming to a decision," says Ed Griffith, a spokesperson for Rundle's office.

"It's pretty damning, what’s in that tape," says Michael Joseph, an attorney representing Emile Hollant, a North Miami Police commander suspended after the shooting who is suing the city over his discipline. "The police chief outlines rogue officers in that department and other rogue officials. Something has to be done about this. The city has to do the right thing here and clean house."

After the shooting, union officials justified Aledda's actions by saying he thought the autistic man with Kinsey had a gun — not a toy truck. But Eugene's interview with FDLE directly contradicts that claim. (On Tuesday, North Miami police public information officer declined comment on behalf of the city manager, Spring.)

"I heard the shooter, Officer Aledda, make a statement to the nature of, 'Be advised, I have clear shot [at] subject,'" Eugene says, describing the audio of the police radio just before the shooting. "Later on, a sergeant ... got on the air and said, 'I have a visual, it is a toy. Is it a toy? QRX.' That means, 'Stand by, don't do anything.' Then there is a conversation back and forth. The next transmission was by [another officer saying] 'Shot fired!'"

Eugene's description comes in an hour-long interview that centers on the bizarre aftermath of the case. He doesn't pull punches about the state of the department. Eugene, a veteran City of Miami cop who had been sworn in as chief only six days before the Kinsey shooting, says training was lax and infighting rampant.

"The scene was a mess, to be honest with you," he tells investigators of the Kinsey shooting. "People were walking all over the place. Thank God [Kinsey] did not die. I realized I have a problem with the training of my staff. We're talking about some 15 or 16-year veterans, but in North Miami, a 15 or 16-year veteran may have less experience than a two-year cop in Miami."

Fights in the department were so bad, Eugene said, that he worried his own cops wouldn't even be willing to protect each other, much less the community.

"I'm afraid one of them will get shot for God's sake, and someone will call for backup and they'll say, 'I'm not going,' just to tell you how much the animosity is," he said.

Much of Eugene's interview centers around the suspension of Hollant, a commander who was present at the shooting. The chief paints a dark picture of department infighting, collusion, and incompetence on the part of city officials.

Three days after Kinsey's shooting, North Miami city officials held a press conference announcing that, in addition to Aledda, they had suspended Hollant. In fact, they were suspending Hollant without pay, while Aledda would be on paid leave. Why? According to City Manager Larry Spring, Hollant had lied to Eugene at the scene by telling him he hadn't witnessed the shooting; in fact, Spring claimed, audio showed the Hollant was there.

But Eugene tells a very different story in his interview. He says that Hollant was actually suspended as part of a plot by Assistant Chief Larry Juriga, who had an ongoing feud with Hollant.

Eugene says the trouble started on July 21, three days after the shooting. That's when Juriga came to his office to tell him that Hollant had lied. Juriga said that "we found out he had a radio transmission that (Hollant) actually gave the order, that he made a statement that caused the shooter to open fire," Eugene said. "I was fuming when I heard that ... I made a comment, 'Fuck ... I'm going to suspend him.'"

Eugene says he immediately went to Spring and City Attorney Jeff Cazeau and filled them in. They all agreed to suspend Hollant. But on the drive home, Eugene had second thoughts. He recalled that Juriga and Hollant didn't get along, and decided to listen to the audio from the shooting himself. That's when he says he realized Juriga had lied.

The audio tape, indeed, showed Hollant had warned that the autistic man was loading a gun. But that warning didn't spark Aledda to shoot. In fact, several moments pass until another sergeant on the scene warns that the man is only holding a toy. Only after that warning did the shooting take place, contends Eugene, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

"I heard the sergeant, who advised earlier that it was a toy, say, 'Hold fire! Hold fire! It was a toy,' trying to stop whoever was doing the shooting," Eugene says. "I said, 'Oh lord.'"

The next morning, Eugene says, he went to Spring's office with the tape to ask the city manager not to suspend Hollant after all. But he says the city manager refused to listen to the audio or to the chief's warnings.

"I said, 'City manager, I'm telling you, listen to this CD and make a decision based on this CD,'" Eugene says. "[Spring] slapped his hand on the desk and said, 'You don't understand what I'm telling you. Get control of your people!'"

Eugene says he nearly quit on the spot. "To be honest, I came close, I nearly let him know that I was about to resign," Eugene says.

Instead, he reviewed department rules and realized that Spring could suspend Hollant on his own. So, the chief says, he backed off and let the city manager do as he pleased. But Eugene says he was so disturbed by Jiruga's conduct that he moved him from his post leading investigations to another position heading up city code enforcement.

That wasn't the only disturbing thing he learned. Eugene says he soon found out that before Hollant had been suspended, the commander in charge of the scene during the shooting had tried to intimate him into changing his story. That commander urged Hollant to say he had seen the shooting and that the autistic man did seem to be loading a gun. "He talked to Emile prior to the suspension and told him ... '[By] not saying you saw the guy loading the gun, do you realize that information could have helped my officer?' They were more concerned about clearing the officer of any wrongdoing than actually getting any impartial investigation."

Eugene says the whole incident was a wake-up call to him about bad training in the department. He reiterated that the Kinsey crime scene was one of the worst-managed he'd ever seen. "The scene wasn't well prepared. There was no inner perimeter, no outer perimeter, no media staging area, nothing," he says. When he got to the scene, no one briefed him about what had occurred.

Joseph says the police recording shows his client, Hollant, was wronged by the city manager. Hollant was cleared by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office, which found that he didn't mislead anyone at the scene. But he remains on paid suspension as the department finishes its own investigation of the case.

"I would say this brings a lot of light on how the city manager and city attorney dealt with the situation. This was political, about PR, rather than finding out what happened," Joseph says. "The chief is in a very precarious spot. There’s some bad apples there. And he knows my client was done wrong. He's caught in the middle."

Andrea

05-02-2017, 06:48 AM

Texas cop fatally shoots teen outside house party

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/us/texas-cop-kills-teen-trnd/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/us/texas-cop-kills-teen-trnd/index.html)

A police officer in a Dallas, Texas, suburb fatally shot a 15-year-old boy outside a high school house party Saturday night. The police department admitted on Monday that it initially released incorrect information about the shooting.

Officers broke up the house party in response to reports of under-aged drinking. One officer then fired a rifle into a vehicle as it was driving away from the party, fatally injuring the front-seat passenger, according to the Balch Springs Police Department.

Jordan Edwards died from a fatal rifle wound to the head, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office. The freshman Mesquite High School student-athlete's death was ruled a homicide.

Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber told reporters Monday he "misspoke" earlier when he said the car was driving "aggressively" toward the two officers.

Haber said body camera footage of the incident showed the car was driving forward, away from the officers, not reversing toward them as he originally reported.

"I take responsibility for that," Haber said.

The officer's behavior "did not meet our core values," Haber said.

Police were looking for the owners of the house when shots were allegedly heard in the area, creating chaos right before Jordan was shot, according to Balch Springs Police Public Information Officer Oscar Gonzalez.

Haber declined to confirm whether any shots were confirmed to have been fired or whether the boys in the car were armed, citing the ongoing investigation.

The officer fired three shots into the car, Edwards family lawyer Lee Merritt told CNN based on eyewitness accounts from the other boys in the car.

Jordan's 16-year-old brother and their three friends were detained at the scene and taken away from Jordan's wounded body to the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, where they were eventually interviewed as witnesses. The boys were not arrested or charged, according to Merritt.

Jordan was transported to Baylor University hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries, according to a BSPD press release.

The Dallas County Sheriff's Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting in tandem with the Public Integrity Unit from the Dallas County District Attorney's Office. Officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the investigation.

The 6-year veteran of the Balch Springs police force who fired the fatal shot was placed on administrative leave, but has not been charged or arrested. His identity is not being released at this time, Haber said.

The officer had no similar prior incidents, Haber said, and BSPD is conducting a separate internal administrative review of the incident.

"The Balch Springs Police Department, regardless of how this whole thing turns out, we are here to serve this community," Haber said.

Haber met with Jordan's parents twice since his death, expressing condolences on behalf of the department and the city.

The Edwards family's lawyer will meet with the investigating parties this week on their behalf.

"We are declaring war on bad policing," Merritt said in a press conference held on behalf of the family Monday. "America throughout the country must figure out a way to police its citizens without killing them."

Jordan's family has not spoken publicly, wishing to grieve privately until after the funeral, Merritt told CNN. They saw Jordan's body for the first time late Monday night, he said.

Jordan will be remembered for his smile, those that knew him told reporters. Grief counselors were made available at Mesquite High School, because Edwards was such a well-known, well-liked member of the community, Merritt said.

"The entire district -- especially the staff and students of Mesquite High School -- are mourning this terrible loss," a Mesquite High School press release said.

A prayer vigil was held Monday night at the high school for the community. A funeral has not yet been scheduled, according to Merritt.

Andrea

05-06-2017, 06:14 PM

Sheriff, 4 staff charged after inmates abused with stun guns

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article148886119.html (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article148886119.html)

Utah's attorney general filed charges Friday against a former sheriff and four deputies in a rural county after prosecutors say inmates were stunned with a Taser in exchange for soda or as hazing when assigned to a work crew.

Former Daggett County Sheriff Jerry R. Jorgensen has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of misconduct, obstructing justice and failing to keep inmates safe. He resigned last month as state officials investigated allegations of inmate abuse.

According to the charges, former deputy Joshua J. Cox threatened inmates with his personal Taser in 2015 and 2016.

On one occasion in August 2016, Cox promised five inmates a case of soda if they could endure the stun gun for five minutes.

Two months later, Cox used the Taser as an "initiation" to an inmate work crew and required one inmate to withstand the Taser in exchange for keeping his work privileges, prosecutors said.

Court records allege that between December 2016 and February 2017, Cox brought uncertified police dogs into the jail and ordered two inmates to participate in training the dogs. Cox was not a certified K9 officer and both inmates were bitten by the unleashed animals, prosecutors said.

Cox faces 11 counts, including felony aggravated assault, weapons charges and theft.

Prosecutors said the theft charge was filed because Cox's Taser was stolen from the police department where he used to work.

No telephone number or defense attorney was publicly listed for Cox. He was fired in April, according to sheriff's office spokeswoman Susie Potter.

Former Deputy Benjamin C. Lail was charged with aggravated assault for pointing a Taser at a woman's feet in a control room at the jail and saying, "OK, you're done, now get back to class."

The woman was not identified. Utah Department of Corrections spokeswoman Maria Peterson said the woman was a volunteer at the jail.

Jorgensen is accused of failing to properly supervise his jail staff and putting inmates in danger. The obstruction of justice charge stems from the former sheriff allegedly denying that he received an email from an unnamed woman detailing how Lail intimidated her by pointed a stun gun at her feet.

Deputies Logan Walker, 26, and Rodrigo Toledo, 41, are accused of being witnesses to Cox's use of the stun gun on inmates. They are charged with misdemeanor official misconduct for not stopping Cox and failing to report it after it happened.

Lail, Toledo, Walker and Jorgensen could not be reached for comment and did not have listed attorneys to speak on their behalf Friday.

Court records show the former sheriff and his four former deputies are scheduled to make their first court appearances on June 9. All five are required to turn themselves in at the Uintah County Sheriff's Office by the end of May to be fingerprinted and have their mugshots taken.

Attorney General Sean Reyes in a statement called Cox's alleged actions "unbelievably inhumane" and "a reprehensible miscarriage of justice." The attorney general said the actions of the other men were inexcusable.

Daggett County and the sheriff's office had no comment on the charges or those named in the case, according to an emailed statement from Potter late Friday.

State officials began investigating the rural eastern Utah jail earlier this year after Jorgensen reported possible mistreatment of inmates.

The jail, near Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in the small town of Manila on the Wyoming border, has been empty since February, when Utah's Corrections Department learned of the allegations and removed 80 inmates, all male, to other jails or prisons.

About 15 of those inmates have now been paroled or discharged, according to Peterson.

Utah Corrections Executive Director Rollin Cook said in a statement Friday that inmates would not be returned to Daggett County until state officials have confidence in new leaders and security at the jail.

Andrea

05-18-2017, 07:01 AM

Betty Shelby Found Not Guilty in Shooting Death of Unarmed Black Motorist Terence Crutcher

http://www.theroot.com/betty-shelby-found-not-guilty-in-shooting-death-of-unar-1795320493 (http://www.theroot.com/betty-shelby-found-not-guilty-in-shooting-death-of-unar-1795320493)

The jury in the trial of Tulsa, Okla., Police Officer Betty Shelby deliberated for nine hours Wednesday before finding her not guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of unarmed black motorist Terence Crutcher.

KTUL reports that the Crutcher family is expected to address the media with the district attorney after a brief meeting.

Crutcher’s twin sister, Tiffany Crutcher, announced that the verdict had been reached just after 9 p.m. Central.

Just hours into the deliberations, defense attorney Shannon McMurray requested a mistrial, alleging prosecutorial misconduct, but the judge denied the request.

The jurors sent the judge a note asking if they could make a statement when they delivered the verdict, but the judge said no and advised them that they were free to discuss the case after the trial.

The case was handed to the jury around noon Wednesday after both the defense and prosecution made closing statements.

As previously reported on The Root, Shelby, 43, was charged with first-degree felony manslaughter in the September 2016 fatal shooting of Crutcher on a Tulsa highway after his car broke down.

Video of the shooting showed Crutcher raising his hands as he walked to his vehicle, and in the audio, you can hear the pilot of a helicopter overhead stating that Crutcher looked like a “bad dude.” Earlier this week, Shelby stated that it was the scariest moment of her life and that she was filled with fear. Tulsa police said that Crutcher was not complying with their demands when he was shot, but the video seemed to show a totally different story.

Shelby took the stand in her own defense in the weeklong trial, testifying that her training led her to shoot Crutcher because she believed that he was reaching for a weapon through a partially open window in his vehicle.

Shelby has routinely denied that race was a factor in her response to the encounter, blaming Crutcher’s actions and saying that he seemed to be high on drugs and did not respond to police commands as he walked toward his vehicle.

Prosecutors countered that drug use and ignoring commands were no reason for an officer to use deadly force against a civilian.

We all saw that shooting on video, and we all saw that man walking with his hands up, his back to Shelby.

We all saw her shoot and kill him on camera.

He was not a threat to her.

This is more injustice.

This. Must. Stop.

Andrea

05-21-2017, 10:54 AM

Dallas school police officer slammed a 6th-grader to the ground, fractured her clavicle

https://mic.com/articles/177526/dallas-school-police-officer-slammed-a-6th-grader-to-the-ground-fractured-her-clavicle#.YM7WEWAOw (https://mic.com/articles/177526/dallas-school-police-officer-slammed-a-6th-grader-to-the-ground-fractured-her-clavicle#.YM7WEWAOw)

A police officer from Dallas Independent School District has been put on administrative leave after allegedly slamming a 12-year-old girl to the ground and fracturing her clavicle.

In the video, sixth-grader Mariana Benton is seen fighting with another female student on Piedmont Global Academy School's campus. The two girls are surrounded by other students until an unnamed Dallas ISD officer break up the fight, pick up Benton and then slam her to the ground. Students can be heard shouting in horror.

Benton also said the officer pepper sprayed her.

"The officer came and grabbed me and body slammed me, then put the pepper spray," Benton told local television station KXAS. "He pepper sprayed me in the eyes and I couldn't open my eyes because it was burning me, the eyes, so then they took us to the nurse to put water."

The school district looked into Benton's conduct after the incident and suspended her for three days, according to the Dallas Morning News. Benton was also hospitalized for a fractured clavicle.

As for the officer, Piedmont Global Academy put him on administrative leave and refused to release their name. According to the Root, the school district said the officer's action do not "represent the type of response we want our officers to display."

But Alma Valdez, Benton's mother, told KXAS the officer should not be working with children based on how he treated her daughter.

"I don't want him being suspended, I want him get fired," Valdez said. "Why is he still working with kids? He's not capable of working like that."

"It makes me mad, angry," Valdez told local station KTVT. "She's 12 years old. She weighs 100 pounds. He should be fired."

According to KXAS, Valdez is looking to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit against the school. She also said a school official forced students who filmed the violent incident to delete their videos.

Andrea

06-06-2017, 06:44 AM

Police speak less respectfully to black drivers, study suggests

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/05/health/police-language-race-oakland-study/index.html?sr=twCNN060617police-language-race-oakland-study0546AMVODtopPhoto&linkId=38390158 (http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/05/health/police-language-race-oakland-study/index.html?sr=twCNN060617police-language-race-oakland-study0546AMVODtopPhoto&linkId=38390158)

A succession of high-profile police shootings and racial tensions swept the United States last summer. One year later, researchers are still trying to better understand the delicate relationship between police and the communities they patrol.

Now instead of focusing on police use of force, some researchers are turning their attention to use of language.

A new study suggests that police officers in Oakland, California, are more likely to speak to white community members with a higher level of respect than black community members. The study, which published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, used police body camera footage as data.

More research is needed to determine whether this racial disparity in language occurs in other communities across the US but Rob Voigt, lead author of the study, said that it's worth investigating.

"At the very least this provides evidence for something that communities of color have reported, that this is a real phenomenon," said Rob Voigt, a doctoral student in the linguistics department at Stanford University.
Voigt added that he and his colleagues were grateful to the Oakland Police Department for allowing them to study the department's body camera footage.

"We're also hoping it inspires police departments to consider cooperating with researchers more. And facilitating this kind of analysis of body camera footage will help police departments improve their relationship with the community and it will give them techniques for better communication," he said. "When people feel they're respected by the police they are more likely to trust the police, they are more likely to cooperate with the police, and so on and so forth. So we have reason to expect that these differences that we find have real-world effects."

A racial disparity, hidden in language

The study involved 183 hours of body camera footage taken during 981 routine traffic stops by 245 different Oakland Police Department officers in April 2014. The footage of the officers' interactions with community members was transcribed.

The researchers then randomly selected 312 utterances spoken to black community members and 102 spoken to white community members for volunteers to analyze.

The researchers asked the volunteers to read the transcript of one community member's utterance and then the utterance by the police officer that followed in response. The volunteers rated on a four-point scale how respectful, polite, friendly, formal, and impartial the officer was.

Each interaction was rated by at least 10 volunteers, who did not know the names or races of the officers, community members, or any other contextual or identifying information.

Next, the researchers developed a computer model to rate how respectful each interaction was based on pre-existing scientific literature about respectfulness and politeness.

For instance, the computer measured how often police officers introduced themselves, used formal titles such as ma'am or sir, used words like please and thank you, apologized, such as saying "sorry to stop you," and reassured safety, such as saying "drive safe, please" -- all of which are utterances that show signs of respect, according to the study.

For example, the transcripts in the study included these sentences: "Sorry to stop you. My name's Officer [name] with the Police Department." "There you go, ma'am. Drive safe, please."

Less respectful utterances included using informal titles like "man" or first names, or asking for agency, such as saying "do me a favor."

The transcripts in the study included these sentences: "All right, my man. Do me a favor. Just keep your hands on the steering wheel real quick." "[First name], can I see that driver's license again?"

The researchers used the computer model to automatically estimate the level of respect for every utterance, and to estimate how respectful a human might have rated each utterance.

After analyzing all of their data, the researchers found that white community members were 57% more likely to hear an officer say one of the most respectful utterances in the dataset, such as apologizing. Whereas, black community members were 61% more likely to hear an officer say one of the least respectful utterances, such as informal titles.

The racial disparity occurred despite the police officers' race and among most officers, not outliers, the researchers found. The disparity emerged at the early onset of interactions and was still present after controlling for whether a community member was arrested, given a citation, or searched, Voigt said.
CNN reached out to the Oakland Police Department for comment on Monday. A public information officer responded that department officials and researchers plan to provide comment soon.

The study "is self-limiting in the sense that they focused only on transcriptions of verbal utterances in traffic stops, but I think this is a wise first step," said Jack Glaser, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the study.

"I am aware of community surveys that have been conducted, and they certainly indicate that black people feel treated more poorly by police, but this is the first analysis of body-worn camera data that I'm aware of," he said. "It contributes a lot to our understanding of racial disparities in police-civilian encounters."

Glaser added that interactions in which a community member might feel disrespected not only can be stressful but can lead to behavioral and health effects and even acute trauma for that community member.

John Dovidio, a professor at the Yale School of Public Health who was not involved in the study, agreed.

'How can you change the training?'

"If any of us feel that we've been disrespected in the situation, it's psychologically wounding to us," Dovidio said.

He added, however, that respect appears to be a particularly deep-rooted need for communities that historically have been disadvantaged.

"If you bring a majority and a minority group member together, a white and a black person, in those interactions the basic needs and goals of the white and black person are very different," Dovidio said.

"The white person in these intergroup interactions tends to want to be liked. They want to be sort of affirmed as being a good person," he said. "But people of color, and this occurs for other historically disadvantaged groups, their major goal is to be respected. ... Everybody wants respect, but minority group members in interracial interactions with authority figures have a particularly heightened need to feel respected in those interactions and that's why respect is such a key variable."

The first step to improving everyday interactions between police and the communities they serve is awareness, which the new study provides, Dovidio said.

"What this does is, makes it real, makes it tangible, makes it objective," he said. "It can then be used not to blame people ... but what it can be used for is a tool for teaching people how to not do something that they may be doing unintentionally."

In other words, police and other people of authority tend to unconsciously or implicitly display this disrespect through language, Dovidio said.

"The outcome of this disrespect is actually, it's a lose-lose situation, because law-abiding people in a community don't want crime. Police don't want crime. But the actions of the police officers undermine the trust and connection of them with the community," Dovidio said.

"Rather than blame police officers, I think the question is, how can you change the training and the experiences that police officers have?" he said. "I would hope that this article is not interpreted as a way of saying police officers are bad, but rather, here's some ideas of how police training can be improved and police practice can be improved to get the trust of the community, to create a relationship that's healthy and cooperative."

*Anya*

06-06-2017, 07:27 AM

When I see that there is a new post in this thread, I have to prepare myself for another large bite of prejudice, death, injury, slur or bias.

It is hard to read but I know that I must.

Re: Andrea's post below; it is no shocker to find that police speak less respectfully to black drivers.

They certainly don't hesitate to shoot them when unarmed or undefended, either.

I listened to LeBron James speak at his press conference May 31st. It was very painful to listen and to see the sadness in his face. He said:

“I think back to Emmett Till’s mom, actually,” James said. “That’s one of the first things I thought of. The reason she had an open casket was that she wanted to show the world what her son went through as far as a hate crime, and being black in America. No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough. We’ve got a long way to go, for us as a society and for us as African Americans, until we feel equal in America.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/05/31/being-black-in-america-is-tough-lebron-james-responds-to-racist-vandalism-incident/?utm_term=.a3bdda8353fe

Andrea

06-08-2017, 06:42 AM

Man dead after being shot by LAPD officers and run over by their cruiser; toy gun found near body, police say

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-wilmington-police-shooting-20170607-story.html (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-wilmington-police-shooting-20170607-story.html)

Los Angeles police officials are investigating how officers killed a man in Wilmington, first shooting him before their cruiser ran over and pinned him, authorities said Wednesday.

The officers had responded about 9 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a man with a handgun in the 1100 block of North Wilmington Boulevard, according to a statement released by the LAPD.

A toy gun was found at the scene by investigators, police said in the statement.

When officers arrived, they saw a lone man in his mid-20s and the deadly encounter unfolded — but authorities provided a vague account of what transpired.

“Believing this may be the suspect from the radio call, they directed their attention toward him; at that time there was an officer-involved shooting,” the department said in the statement.

LAPD officials did not say whether officers saw the toy gun before opening fire or whether the man aimed it at police.

Police said several shots were fired and the man fell to the ground. Then the officers’ cruiser “traveled forward” and struck the man, pinning him underneath it, police said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The exact cause of his death — gunshot wounds or the weight of the cruiser — has not been determined.

Ed Winter, a deputy chief of investigations for the L.A. County coroner’s office, said the man has not yet been identified.

During the deadly encounter, one of the officers suffered an injury to his arm and was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Police have not explained how the officer was injured but said he was released Wednesday after treatment.

The incident may have been caught on video as police cruisers in the LAPD’s South Bureau are equipped with dash cameras.

The initial police radio call of an "officer down" overstated the extent of the officer’s injury, and a dispatcher described the officer as having been shot in the arm.

"Shots fired; can you help," an out-of-breath officer is heard saying into his radio. The officer then advised where to approach the scene from on Wilmington Boulevard.

"Suspect down by vehicle; possible gunfire," the officer said shortly after to a dispatcher. Another officer's voice interjected, "We've got an officer down."

A dispatcher then tells officers over the radio that one of the officers at the scene was shot in the arm, and directs all units to Denni Street and Wilmington Boulevard.

Once the LAPD’s specialized shooting investigators arrived, they determined that the officers were not fired at and that the item recovered at the scene was a toy gun.

Initially, a police spokesman had said another suspect was in custody. But as the investigation evolved, LAPD Communications Director Josh Rubenstein said only one suspect — the man who was fatally shot — was involved in the incident.

A multi-agency investigation is underway, which is standard procedure for all LAPD officer-involved shootings. It will be reviewed by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, the Police Commission and its inspector general.

A white shade tent covered the police car's front end on the sidewalk into early Wednesday morning when coroner's investigators entered the area to remove the man's body.

Tuesday night's shooting is two blocks away from where 17-year-old Fabian Nunez was gunned down earlier that same day.

Andrea

06-10-2017, 09:55 AM

Missouri parole board played word games during hearings with inmates

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/missouri-parole-board-played-word-games-during-hearings-with-inmates/article_ce6cba9b-5932-52a4-899a-f7644ec4d7d8.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/missouri-parole-board-played-word-games-during-hearings-with-inmates/article_ce6cba9b-5932-52a4-899a-f7644ec4d7d8.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)

The Missouri Board of Probation and Parole allegedly toyed with prisoners during hearings by trying to get them to say a chosen word or song title of the day, such as “platypus” and “Hound Dog.”

Don Ruzicka, a member of the seven-member board, along with an unnamed government employee were accused of keeping score during the hearings, according to a Department of Corrections inspector general report completed on Nov. 1, 2016.

Each time one of them used a predetermined keyword while interviewing an offender they earned a point. Two points were granted if the offender repeated the word. Occasionally, the duo spiced the game up by wearing matching clothing, like the time they dressed in black shirts, ties, pants and shoes.

The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center at St. Louis recently obtained the state report and released it Thursday after a news conference, asserting that public servants “played games with people’s lives and liberty.”

“These activities, so far as we are aware, have never come to light in the public’s eye,” said Mae Quinn, director of the nonprofit human rights law firm. “They simply were not taking their duties seriously and their role as appointed officials and public servants seriously.”

The group, and other supporters, called on Gov. Eric Greitens to reform the board, including immediate removal of Ruzicka.

The seven-member parole board is responsible for determining whether a person confined in the Department of Corrections will be paroled or conditionally released, and for supervising thousands of people on probation and parole. They run parole hearings at prisons and by video.

Critics, including people who held leadership positions for the corrections department, have said in recent years that they want the parole board to be reformed. They believe it operates almost entirely in secret and has become a plum place for former lawmakers to land since term limits have been in place.

Board members are appointed by the governor for six-year terms. Ruzicka, a former conservation agent and Republican state representative from Mount Vernon, began his term Dec. 21, 2012. Former Gov. Jay Nixon appointed him. He was paid $85,204 in 2016, not counting retirement benefits.

Inspector General Amy Roderick concluded in her report that Ruzicka and an unnamed corrections employee who attended parole hearings violated a governor’s executive order and other procedures by failing to conduct state government in a manner that “inspires confidence and trust.”

Referencing recordings of some hearings, Roderick wrote: “It seemed they were trying so hard to embed the words or song titles into their questions or statements that they were not focused on the proper questions to ask nor were they actively listening to the responses from the offenders … and, most times, it seemed the offender was being made fun of by the use of such words and song titles during the process.”

According to Roderick’s report, the report was to be delivered seven months ago to then-Parole Board Chairman Ellis McSwain Jr. and the chief state supervisor for the Department of Corrections. In March, Greitens elevated Republican board member Kenneth C. Jones to the role of chairman, replacing McSwain, a Democrat. McSwain remains a member of the parole board.

A corrections department spokesman said on Thursday that department officials had no comment.

“Hootenanny,” was the word of the day on June 21, 2016.

According to the inspector general report, the unnamed department employee used the word four times during one hearing. Each time Ruzicka laughed out loud.

During the hearing, the employee whispered to Ruzicka: “I got four (points).”

In another hearing that day, Ruzicka referenced the song “Peggy Sue.” He asked the offender if she was named after the song. The department employee laughed and said he was just trying to lighten the mood.

“Or you could just have a hootenanny,” Ruzicka countered.

“Yes, we could have a hootenanny,” the employee said, whispering that points would be counted.

Asked when she first used heroin, the offender said it was at a rave.

“I thought they might have called it a hootenanny,” said the employee.

“A what?” the offender responded.

“A hootenanny,” the department employee said. “A party.”

Ruzicka and the employee laughed again.

“Platypus” and “armadillo” were the words on June 22, 2016, followed by “biomass” and “manatee” the next day. At hearings in July, song titles included “Soul Man,” “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” “Hound Dog,” and “Folsom Prison Blues.”

For instance, in a parole hearing for a sex offender, the department employee said: “Your grandma would probably be like he ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, you know it.” The employee added that if the offender kept up the behavior, the offender might be placed in a sexually violent predator unit, which is run by the Department of Mental Health and holds patients indefinitely. In that case, the employee said the offender might as well learn the song “Folsom Prison Blues.”

More laughing.

Asked by the inspector general how incorporating words and song titles in the hearing helped determine risk and potential release, Ruzicka said: “Through the complete and thorough hearing process we were able to determine the release date.”

Why “platypus”?

Ruzicka said: “I guess if they were rare items he’d taken and a platypus is a rare and unusual thing.”

Why dress the same?

Ruzicka laughed, according to the report, and said: “Just another one of those things.”

Ruzicka told the inspector general they played the game a few days and stopped.

Asked by the inspector general if “all of this sounded ridiculous,” Ruzicka said: “Yeah. Like I said, it happened and it was over … maybe that little check in here (he was pointing to his chest) was to move on. We didn’t discuss ending it. It just kinda ended.”

The investigative report says “several employees” were aware of the game being played by the duo and did not report it.

Amy Breihan, a lawyer with the MacArthur Justice Center, said such behavior potentially taints thousands of cases.

“Who knows how many hearings were affected by this conduct?” she said. “Even in hearings where literal games were not played, one has to question how seriously parole staff are taking their duties.”

At least one family is outraged. Two weeks ago, Ruzicka was part of a parole hearing for Norman Brown, who was involved in a fatal robbery when he was 15. He’s been in prison 28 years, though he wasn’t the shooter, said his attorney. His parole was recently denied.

“This does not sound fair having hearings conducted by a man who sees people like my brother as a means of entertainment,” Shatiega Brown, 36, Brown’s sister, said at the news conference. “Imagine if this was your family, your father, your brother. Would you think this is right, appropriate or just?”

She and others at the news conference urged the governor to take action.

“I am pleading with you so that my brother can have a second chance, a fair chance,” she said.

Andrea

06-12-2017, 11:12 PM

Officer had body camera turned off at scene of Taser incident, a violation of department policy

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/officer-had-body-camera-turned-off-at-scdene-of-fatal/article_5a987e88-4933-5d3f-8ff1-6617b94723c3.html (http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/officer-had-body-camera-turned-off-at-scdene-of-fatal/article_5a987e88-4933-5d3f-8ff1-6617b94723c3.html)

Only one of the four officers who dealt with Zachary Bearheels during his fatal encounter with police was wearing a body camera. And the officer’s camera was turned off — a violation of Omaha Police Department policy.

Scotty Payne, who used a Taser on the handcuffed Bearheels, was the sole officer with a body camera, said Capt. Kerry Neumann of the Omaha Police Department. It’s not clear why Payne’s camera was off.

“It’s a violation of our policy that he didn’t have the camera on,” said Neumann, who leads the team that investigates in-custody deaths. “At this point we don’t know what the reason behind it is.”

The Omaha World-Herald has learned that Payne and another officer at the scene, Ryan McClarty, have been recommended for termination.

Police went to the Bucky’s convenience store at 60th and Center Streets on June 5 to respond to a disturbance about a person refusing to leave.

Bearheels, 29, was asked for his identification and why he was at Bucky’s, but his speech was garbled and he displayed signs of impairment, Schmaderer said last week.

Officers put Bearheels in handcuffs, Schmaderer said. Payne used a Taser on him after he struggled with them and refused to get into the back of a police cruiser. Payne shocked Bearheels with the Taser 12 times, and McClarty repeatedly struck Bearheels with his fists, Schmaderer said.

Bearheels was not breathing and had no pulse when he was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he died.

In addition to the four officers already on scene, two officers arrived toward the end in the encounter. Those officers, Michael Hempel and Ashley Morris, were wearing body cameras, and those cameras were on, Neumann said.

“They had very minimal involvement in this,” he said.

Neumann declined to say what the video from those body cameras showed. Much of the encounter was caught on cruiser cameras, and that video and audio will be released either after a grand jury decision or during a potential criminal court case.

The Omaha Police Department began using 115 body cameras last spring and will distribute more to officers next year. The goal is to eventually equip all uniformed patrol officers and all gang unit officers with cameras.

Department policy requires officers activate body cameras when they arrive on scene. If they do not do so, they must document why.

Andrea

06-13-2017, 08:52 PM

Jersey City suspends officers who kicked victim on fire after crash, 2 deputy chiefs transferred

http://pix11.com/2017/06/12/jersey-city-suspends-officers-who-kicked-victim-on-fire-after-crash-transfers-others/ (http://pix11.com/2017/06/12/jersey-city-suspends-officers-who-kicked-victim-on-fire-after-crash-transfers-others/)

Four police officers in Jersey City who were caught on camera kicking a man who was on fire after being struck by a car as it crashed have been suspended indefinitely without pay, local officials said.

Two deputy chiefs were also transferred and face charges for their role in the incident, Mayor Steven Fulop said. The prosecutor is still involved in determining any additional punishment.

Fulop has called for the termination of the officers after the incident.

It started after Leo Pinkston, 48, crashed his car in front of the EconoLodge after being chased by cops for six miles. Officers had fired shots as they chased him.

The officers kicked a man on fire after he crawled away from the wreckage. But the man wasn’t Pinkston; it was an innocent bystander.

4 police officers suspended without pay + 2 D.Cs transferred. 4 Officers face dept charges. Next step is wait on feedback from prosecutor

“Where appropriate, there could, and probably would be criminal charges,” said Mayor Steven Fulop.

It’s unclear why the officers decided to kick the man instead of helping him.

“Look, we have a high standard for the police department,” said Mayor Fulop in an interview after the incident first came to light. “They do a tremendous job. We’re not going to let just a few bad apples be a reflection on the entire police department or the entire city. We’re going to be aggressive with them.”

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez released a written statement that reads in part:

“This video is now part of all the evidence we are considering as we investigate the actions of all individuals…we will utilize all resources available to the Prosecutor’s Office for a full and thorough investigation as we seek to bring this matter to a rightful conclusion.”

Carmine Disbrow, president of the Jersey City Police Officer union, told PIX11 the entire incident is being investigated.

“We repeat our call for a full and impartial investigation into this incident,” Disbrow said. “Unfortunately Mayor Fulop continues to indicate that he has no intention of allowing this to be the case.”

Andrea

06-14-2017, 12:50 PM

Sacramento County Deputy Shoots Suspect Hiding In Closet

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/06/13/sacramento-county-ois/ (http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/06/13/sacramento-county-ois/)

A man was shot by a Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputy inside a home during a search on Tuesday.

Deputies were searching a home on 53rd Avenue looking for a 38-year-old man who violated a restraining order and was reported to have a gun. The man was spotted entering the vacant home.

A deputy found the man hiding in a closet, and at that point a deputy fired one shot, hitting the suspect in the shoulder.

The suspect is expected to survive.

The shooting is under investigation.

Andrea

06-16-2017, 05:24 PM

Minnesota officer acquitted of manslaughter in shooting Philando Castile during traffic stop

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/06/16/minn-officer-acquitted-philando-castile-shooting/102927488/ (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/06/16/minn-officer-acquitted-philando-castile-shooting/102927488/)

A Minnesota police officer was found not guilty Friday of manslaughter in the shooting death of Philando Castile, a black motorist whose girlfriend streamed the aftermath live on Facebook.

Jeronimo Yanez was also cleared of two lesser charges in the July traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb. The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for a bit more than four days before reaching a verdict in the death of Castile, who was shot just seconds after informing Yanez that he was carrying a gun.

Family members and supporters of Castile left the courtroom in tears. Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, yelled an expletive the moment the verdict was read.

Defense attorney Earl Gray, meanwhile, rubbed the shoulder of Yanez. Raguse described the scene as extremely emotional.

Outside the courthouse, Valerie Castile said Yanez got away with “murder,” noting that her son was wearing a seatbelt and in a car with his girlfriend and her then-4-year-old daughter when he was shot.

“I will continue to say murder,” she said. “I am so very, very, very … disappointed in the system here in the state of Minnesota. Nowhere in the world do you die from being honest and telling the truth.”

“He didn’t deserve to die the way he did,” Philando Castile’s sister, Allysza, said, through tears. “I will never have faith in the system.”

Yanez, who is Latino, testified that Castile was pulling his gun out of his pocket despite his commands not to do so. The defense also argued Castile was high on marijuana and said that affected his actions.

Yanez stared ahead with no reaction as the verdict was read. Afterward, one of his attorneys, Tom Kelly, said the defense was “satisfied.”

“We were confident in our client. We felt all along his conduct was justified. However that doesn’t take away from the tragedy of the event,” Kelly said.

Prosecutors declined to comment.

Castile had a permit for the weapon, and prosecutors questioned whether Yanez ever saw it. They argued that the officer overreacted and that Castile was not a threat.

Castile was killed the night of July 6 during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. The St. Anthony department contracts with Falcon Heights to provide police protection. Yanez said he pulled Castile over because of a broken tail light on his car, but radio transmissions later revealed that the officer thought Castile resembled a suspect in the robbery of a convenience store just days earlier.

Yanez approached the window of Castile’s car, had a brief verbal interaction, then fired seven shots in a matter of seconds, fatally wounding Castile with two shots to the heart. Bullets fired by the officer came within inches of Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, in the passenger seat and Reynolds' 4-year-old daughter in the back seat.

Following a four-month investigation of the shooting, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi charged Yanez with manslaughter, and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. Choi said under Minnesota law, as written, the deadly use of force in Castile's death was not justified.

"I have given Officer Yanez every benefit of the doubt on his use of deadly force, but I cannot allow the death of a motorist who was lawfully carrying a firearm under these facts and circumstances to go unaccounted for," Choi told reporters.

The trial of Yanez began during the last week of May, with prosecutors maintaining that Yanez failed to use correct protocol, such as ordering Castile to put his hands on the steering wheel after being informed the motorist was carrying a permitted gun, and then panicked when he thought Castile was reaching for it.

“Officer Yanez used deadly force as a first option rather than a last resort," Ramsey County Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Paulsen told the jury during closing arguments.

The Yanez defense team steadfastly maintained that the officer clearly saw a gun in Castile’s pocket, felt he was reaching for it and feared his life was in danger when he discharged his weapon, a decision supported by two use of force experts and Yanez’s chief, all who testified in the two-week trial.

Attorney Earl Gray also hammered away at alleged drug use by Castile and his girlfriend, telling jurors that Castile’s being high contributed to his failure to follow Yanez’s commands.

“Drugs and guns don’t mix,” Gray said during closing arguments.

Castile’s shooting was among a string of killings of blacks by police around the U.S., and the livestreaming of its aftermath by Diamond Reynolds attracted even more attention. The public outcry included protests in Minnesota that shut down highways and surrounded the governor’s mansion. Castile’s family claimed he was profiled because of his race, and the shooting renewed concerns about how police officers interact with minorities. Minnesota Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton also weighed in, saying he did not think the shooting would have happened if Castile had been white.

In another development Friday, the city of St. Anthony announced on its website that Yanez is no longer employed by the city as a police officer. The decision was announced in a brief press release.

Kätzchen

06-17-2017, 11:10 AM

Andrea

06-17-2017, 11:21 AM

Video shows fatal takedown of 75-year-old man in Orange County Jail

Video shows fatal takedown of 75-year-old man in Orange County Jail (Video shows fatal takedown of 75-year-old man in Orange County Jail)

New video shows Orange County corrections officers tackling a 75-year-old man inside his jail cell.

The Orange County Medical Examiner said the man's injuries killed him two days afterward.

According to his arrest report, William Howard was arrested on Nov. 16, 2016, after his wife said he "began to act strange."

She said he attacked her in the front yard of their Orlando home, beating her and stabbing her with a kitchen knife.

The man who had never been arrested before now faced an aggravated battery charge.

Two days later, the video shows corrections officers trying to coax Howard out of his solitary cell.

He appeared confused as one officer tried to show him where the jail door was located.

"I'm over here," he's heard saying in the video as he shook his keys. "Come over here. Come over here. Listen to the noise and follow this noise, so I can get you out of here."

The officers use similar techniques for more than 15 minutes when the decision is made to use force.

A team of corrections officers is seen barreling inside Howard's jail cell, tackling him and throwing him to the ground on his head.

The only sound Howard utters is a cough afterward.

The Orange County Medical Examiner noted Howard suffered cardiac arrest one day after the use of force incident.

The report indicated he died one day after that.

The autopsy report showed Howard broke two of his vertebrae in his neck, his spinal cord was crushed and his brain was swollen.

The medical examiner ruled Howard's death was a homicide.

Officials with the Orange County Jail say a nurse was fired and two other nurses faced disciplinary action when they discovered they did not perform a medical evaluation on Howard after the use of force incident.

The Office of the State Attorney declined to prosecute any of the workers involved, saying there was no evidence a crime took place.

News 6 found out the Orange County Jail is still conducting its own internal investigation.

Howard's daughter spoke to News 6 by phone Thursday. She said the family has hired an attorney, and she wouldn't say if they planned to file a lawsuit.

Andrea

06-20-2017, 06:35 AM

Seattle police fatally shoot pregnant woman who they say confronted officers with a knife

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/19/seattle-police-fatally-shoot-black-mother-of-four-who-confronted-officers-with-a-knife/?utm_term=.9310012e7ca7 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/19/seattle-police-fatally-shoot-black-mother-of-four-who-confronted-officers-with-a-knife/?utm_term=.9310012e7ca7)

Seattle police officers shot and killed a woman at her apartment Sunday morning in front of “several children” when the woman, who relatives said was pregnant, “confronted” them with a knife, according to a statement from authorities.

The Seattle Times reported that the 30-year-old woman had called police to report a possible burglary.

At a vigil Sunday night, family identified the woman as Charleena Lyles, according to the Times, and relatives said she had a history of mental health struggles. She was several months pregnant, her family said, and too “tiny” for officers to have felt threatened by her — even if she had a knife.

“Why couldn’t they have Tased her?” Lyles’s sister, Monika Williams, said to the Seattle Times. “They could have taken her down. I could have taken her down.”

On Sunday morning just before 10 a.m., two patrol officers were dispatched to investigate a reported burglary at Brettler Family Place, an apartment complex for people transitioning out of homelessness, according to Detective Mark Jamieson.

Usually, only one officer would respond to a standard burglary call like this one, Jamieson told reporters. But police were familiar with Lyles and her apartment, he said, and her call flagged “hazard information” affiliated with her apartment that “presented an increased risk to officers,” the detective said.

Officers walked to the fourth floor and “at some point, the 30-year-old female was armed with a knife,” Jamieson told reporters. Both officers, who have not been identified, fired their weapons. They performed CPR, according to authorities, but Lyles was later declared dead by fire department officials at the scene.

Children inside at the time were not injured, according to police. Officials who did not say if they were Lyles’s children. Police were trying to determine Sunday whether the children had witnessed the shooting.

The department’s Force Investigative Team is investigating the officers’ decision to use deadly force. Both officers will be placed on administrative leave during the investigation, authorities said.

Florida Carroll, a relative of the victim, cries into her phone at the scene of the shooting. (Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times via AP)

Authorities offered few immediate details about what led police to fire their weapons. Early Monday, the police department released an audio recording capturing what they described as “some of the interaction with the caller prior to the rapid development of the use of force incident.”

On the recording, which officials said was captured by dashboard video cameras in the patrol cars, officers can be heard discussing a woman who had previously made “all these weird statements.” Neither officer is identified, and police say all names have been removed from the recording.

The recording captured officers speaking to a woman about an Xbox that she said was taken. Seconds after that interaction, however, the encounter suddenly escalates and the officers can be heard shouting at the woman to back away.

“Hey, get back! Get back!” an officer shouts, a call echoed by the other officer, before a volley of gunshots are heard.

In a short statement accompanying the recording, police said that both police officers involved “were equipped with less lethal force options, per departmental policy.”

Family members told the Seattle Times that they believe Lyles’s race — she is black — was a factor in her death. Seattle police told the newspaper that the officers who shot her are white.

Sean O’Donnell, captain of the department’s north precinct, where the shooting took place, said one of the officers is an 11-year veteran of the force and the other is “newer to the department,” reported the Times.

King County jail records show that Lyles was arrested June 5 on charges of harassment, obstruction of a public official and harassment of a law enforcement officer. She was released conditionally on June 14. Williams told the Seattle Times that one condition was that she receive mental health counseling, although the newspaper could not independently verify that information Sunday.

Williams told TV station KOMO News that her sister’s arrest earlier this month was connected to another incident at the apartment. Lyles was charged with obstruction because she refused to hand over one of the children to officers until Williams arrived at the scene. She had scissors in her hand, Williams said.

“She didn’t charge nobody or nothing,” Williams told KOMO News.

She said Lyles had “mental health issues” that were going untreated.

Around a hundred people gathered Sunday for a vigil honoring Lyles. The mourners taped a photos of the woman and her children to the back of black plastic chairs and spelled her name out on the sidewalk with small votive candles. Friends and family wondered aloud how police could shoot and kill a mother in front of her children.

Lhora Murray, 42, lives in the apartment directly below Lyles and told the Stranger she often heard yelling from the woman’s unit and called security multiple times. When she heard gunshots Sunday morning, Murray said she called people — unaware it was officers who had fired their weapons.

Murray told the Stranger that after the shooting, police handed her two of Lyles’s children, a 10-year-old and a toddler. “They shot my mom,” Murray said the 10-year-old told her as she took the kids outside.

The deadly shooting in Seattle came just two days after a jury in Minnesota acquitted an officer who was charged with fatally shooting Philando Castile, a local school employee, during a traffic stop last year. That acquittal sparked intense protests late Friday and early Saturday around St. Paul, where police estimate thousands of people were demonstrating, including a group that blocked the freeway.

The shooting in Seattle was “a tragedy for all involved,” Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement. He promised a full and thorough investigation, citing “historic police reforms” that are “in place to address such crises.”

The Seattle Police Department has been operating under a consent decree since 2012, following the conclusion of a federal investigation the previous year.

The Justice Department’s investigation concluded that the Seattle Police Department, one of the 40 largest local police forces nationwide, engaged in an unconstitutional pattern or practice of excessive force. While the 2011 investigation did not find that Seattle police officers have a pattern or practice of discriminatory policing, federal officials said their investigation raised “serious concerns on this issue,” concluding that some of the department’s “policies and practices, particularly those related to pedestrian encounters, could result in unlawful policing.”

After the investigation, the city of Seattle and the Justice Department negotiated a consent decree, which the federal government has used for nearly a quarter of a century to bring about court-enforceable reforms overseen by an independent monitor. These agreements were a key legacy of the Obama administration, but they are far less popular with the Trump administration. Earlier this year, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has criticized such decrees, ordered Justice Department officials to review all reform agreements nationwide.

In April, less than a week after Sessions ordered a sweeping review of consent decrees, the Seattle police monitor filed a report saying that use of force by officers had gone down. Notably, the monitor concluded that officers and people in Seattle were not imperiled by this shift.

“Overall, use of force has gone down even as officer injuries have not gone up and crime, by most measures, has not increased,” the monitor wrote. “At the same time, the force that SPD officers do use is, by and large, reasonable, necessary, proportional, and consistent with the Department’s use of force policy.”

The report studied more than 2,380 incidents involving a use of force over a period of 28 months, the monitor wrote. During that time, more than half of the incidents involved someone determined by police to be “exhibiting some sign of impairment,” described as a mental health or behavioral crisis or potential intoxication. During that 28-month period, the monitor said there were 15 shootings by police officers; in six of those cases, the person facing police “appeared to be experiencing a behavioral crisis.”

Andrea

06-22-2017, 09:03 PM

White St. Louis cop shot black off-duty officer — then claimed it was a ‘friendly fire’ incident

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/white-st-louis-cop-shot-black-off-duty-officer-then-claimed-it-was-a-friendly-fire-incident/#.WUxD2v-l9y4.twitter (http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/white-st-louis-cop-shot-black-off-duty-officer-then-claimed-it-was-a-friendly-fire-incident/#.WUxD2v-l9y4.twitter)

A St. Louis police officer shot a black off-duty officer from his own force after a car chase ended in a crash outside the off-duty officer’s home.

The African American officer, who has not yet been identified, came outside of his home while off-duty after hearing the commotion from a car chase that ended nearby. Despite identifying himself as a cop, the man was ordered to the ground by two officers. He complied, and soon after, they recognized him and told him to get up.

That was when a third officer entered the scene, and because he did not recognize the black off-duty cop and claimed to “fear for his safety,” shot the off-duty cop in the arm.

The Post-Dispatch reported that police are calling the incident an example of “friendly fire” due to the suspects from the car chase firing at police. The paper also reported that police initially claimed that the 38-year-old African American officer, who has been on the force for 11 years, was “caught in the crossfire.”

“This is the first time that we are aware, that a black professional, in law enforcement, himself being shot and treated as an ordinary black guy on the street. This is a real problem,” Rufus J. Tate Jr., the attorney for the injured off-duty officer, told the local Fox affiliate.

“In the police report, you have so far, there is no description of threat he received. So we have a real problem with that. But this has been a national discussion for the past two years. There is this perception that a black man is automatically feared,” the attorney concluded.

Andrea

06-22-2017, 09:05 PM

Dashcam video shows cop's 'brutal attack' of Minnesota motorist, ACLU says

http://www.startribune.com/dashcam-video-shows-police-brutal-attack-of-minnesota-motorist-aclu-says/430187073/ (http://www.startribune.com/dashcam-video-shows-police-brutal-attack-of-minnesota-motorist-aclu-says/430187073/)

State leaders of the American Civil Liberties Union released squad car video Thursday of what they say is a law enforcement officer's "disturbing and completely unnecessary … brutal attack" on a motorist in Worthington, Minn., who was suspected of initiating a dangerous road-rage encounter and resisting arrest.

The civil rights group is calling for local authorities in southwestern Minnesota to investigate what it alleges is the use of excessive force during the July 2016 arrest of Anthony Promvongsa, 22, of Worthington.

Worthington Police Chief Troy Appel and task force Cmdr. Nate Grimmius responded in a joint statement: "The video, viewed in a vacuum, shows only a short segment of the incident that is the basis of the criminal charges." The two declined to say more about the officer's actions.

The video shows Joe Joswiak, a member of the Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force and a Worthington police officer, pulling over the suspect's sport-utility vehicle and kneeing the belted-in motorist three times, then throwing punches and an elbow before putting on handcuffs.

Recorded from the dashcam of a second squad car at the scene, the video does not show any resistance by Promvongsa, who went to a hospital for evaluation and was released that day.

"Agent Joswiak's use of force against Anthony Promvongsa is disturbing and completely unnecessary," Teresa Nelson, executive director in Minnesota for the ACLU, said in a statement. "We are calling for an investigation of Agent Joswiak's behavior and for him to be held accountable for his brutal attack … up to and including termination and prosecution.

Nelson said Joswiak has not been disciplined.

Promvongsa, in an explanation released by the ACLU, said, "I was literally blindsided with this unnecessary attack. I immediately pulled over for the Worthington squad car, and before I know what was happening, I was beat and ripped from my vehicle."

The criminal complaint charges Promvongsa with assault with a dangerous weapon, fleeing police in a vehicle, marijuana possession and driving after his license was revoked.

Kathleen Kusz, the Nobles County attorney, cautioned that the video merely "shows a portion of the evidence that would be presented at trial."

According to the criminal complaint, Promvongsa caused a road-rage incident that started about 9:30 a.m. on July 28. Promvongsa is accused of endangering an off-duty Worthington police officer, including tailgating, swerving, making hand gestures out the window and speeding up before stopping just short of the officer's car.

The off-duty officer then met up with a fellow off-duty officer. Promvongsa sped between their vehicles, saying he was "going to get his boys and come back to get them" before speeding off, the complaint said.

After Promvongsa's encounter with the off-duty officers, Joswiak drove in his unmarked car to where the suspect was last seen and found Promvongsa. The complaint alleges that Promvongsa swerved toward Joswiak and kept going.

Joswiak and another officer, Sgt. Tim Gaul, got Promvongsa to pull over.

The complaint's version of the arrest says that Joswiak, gun drawn, yelled at Promvongsa to exit the vehicle, which he never did. Joswiak then kneed Promvongsa several times, punched him and pulled him to the street before putting on the handcuffs.

Promvongsa, who is no longer in custody, awaits the scheduling of a trial date. His criminal history in Minnesota as an adult includes convictions for underage drinking, drunken driving and driving on a revoked license.

Andrea

06-22-2017, 09:09 PM

Teen killed by bullet when LA County deputies fired at pit bull: Sheriff's office

http://abcnews.go.com/US/teen-killed-bullet-la-county-sheriffs-deputies-fired/story?id=48216488 (http://abcnews.go.com/US/teen-killed-bullet-la-county-sheriffs-deputies-fired/story?id=48216488)

As Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were shooting at a pit bull that was charging at them, a 17-year-old boy was apparently struck in the chest by one of the bullets and died, the sheriff's office said.

The shooting happened at about 3:45 a.m. today in Palmdale, California, after deputies responded to a report of loud music, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. As the deputies walked up the driveway, a 60- to 65-pound pit bull "aggressively charged at the deputies and attacked one of them," biting the deputy on the knee, the sheriff's department said.

At that time, a young man came out from behind an apartment complex and restrained the dog and took it to the back of the building, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies were helping the injured officer and waiting for paramedics when "the pit bull came from the rear of the apartment and again charged at deputy personnel," the sheriff's office reported. "At that point, two deputies shot at the pit bull from a 5- to 7-feet distance, at which time, the pit bull retreated back to the rear of the apartment complex into the carport area."

The deputies went to the back of the complex "in an attempt to corral the dog to prevent additional victims," the sheriff's office said, and as they walked to the rear carport area, they found a teenager on the ground who appeared to have been shot in the chest, the sheriff's office said. The teen was hospitalized and later died.

The sheriff's office said "detectives believe when the juvenile came out from behind the building, which was approximately 40 feet away from where the shooting occurred with the dog, the juvenile may have been struck by one of the skip rounds." Capt. Christopher Bergner of the sheriff’s office said it appeared that the "skip round" that hit the teenager had ricocheted off the ground, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The deputy bitten by the pit bull was also hit in the leg by a bullet fragment, the sheriff's office said. According to the Los Angeles Times, Bergner said in a press conference the deputy's injury also appeared to have been from a skip round that had ricocheted off the ground. He was transported to a hospital and is listed in stable condition, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's department said the investigation is ongoing. Because this was a fatal deputy-involved shooting, separate investigations will be conducted by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner - Coroner, Sheriff's Homicide Bureau and Internal Affairs Bureau, the sheriff's office said. The Office of the Inspector General is expected to provide independent oversight during the investigation and the Los Angeles County District Attorney is also involved. "Once concluded, every aspect of the shooting is reviewed by the Sheriff's Executive Force Review Committee," the sheriff's office added.

The pit bull will be euthanized, the sheriff's office said.

Nicole Nishida, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, said the department's policy for using a firearm on an animal is, "Personnel may use firearms to employ deadly force when dealing with animals when they reasonably believe that death or serious physical injury is about to be inflicted upon themselves or others.

"The shooting of animals that are not a threat of serious bodily injury to a person has proved to be inherently dangerous to bystanders as well as Deputy personnel. Therefore, Department members shall not use firearms to shoot animals fighting with other animals (e.g., dogs)," Nishida said. "If it becomes necessary to destroy an injured (euthanasia) by use of a firearm and the conditions are such that there is an extended or inappropriate response time by the animal control agency, authorization to use a firearm on an animal must be obtained from an on-scene supervisor."

homoe

06-22-2017, 10:05 PM

Andrea

06-24-2017, 10:55 AM

After Philando Castile's Death, Investigators Tried to Secretly Get Access to Diamond Reynolds' Facebook and Phone Records

After Philando Castile's Death, Investigators Tried to Secretly Get Access to Diamond Reynolds' Facebook and Phone Records (After Philando Castile's Death, Investigators Tried to Secretly Get Access to Diamond Reynolds' Facebook and Phone Records)

On July 7th, 2016, just one day after Diamond Reynolds streamed video of a police officer shooting and killing her boyfriend, Philando Castile, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began working to obtain records from Reynolds’s phone. The BCA, which was in charge of investigating Castile’s death, submitted a preservation request to Facebook for Reynolds’ accounts, and obtained a search warrant one day later. The BCA also served a search warrant on Sprint for Reynold’s cell phone records.

BCA took things one step further—they ordered Facebook and Sprint not to tell Reynolds that investigators intended to rifle through her accounts.

Facebook opposed the gag order and, after weeks of discussion between the BCA and a lawyer at Facebook, the warrant was rescinded altogether. Sprint, however, complied with the warrant, and turned over Reynolds’ call records, voicemails, and cell tower information that revealed her location.

The newly released correspondence reveals how Facebook interacted with law enforcement in the high-profile case, and juxtaposes the social media company’s opposition with Sprint’s compliance. The warrant applications, as well as emails between BCA special agent in charge Scott Mueller and Facebook associate general counsel Gavin Corn, were recently released to journalist Tony Webster in response to a public records request. Webster shared the files with Gizmodo.

Companies like Facebook walk a delicate line with law enforcement agencies. They don’t want to appear welcoming to criminals, and providing information when they’re able to gives companies some cover when they can’t turn over encrypted data. But if companies are too quick to turn over information, they can face backlash from their users and criticism from civil liberties groups.

Facebook and Sprint regularly receive search warrants from law enforcement—so frequently, in fact, that the companies have automated portals for agencies to submit their requests. But it’s Facebook’s policy to notify users when their data is requested, a spokesperson told Gizmodo. (Sprint didn’t immediately return a request for comment, but we’ll update if we hear back.)

“Our policy is to notify people about law enforcement requests for their information before disclosure unless we’re legally barred from doing so. In this case, we decided to challenge gag orders on our ability to provide this important notice, and the authorities ultimately withdrew these warrants altogether,” the spokesperson said.

Between July and December 2016, the most recent period for which data is available, Facebook received 14,736 search warrants from US law enforcement agencies. It produced some data in response to over 85 percent of those warrants. Sprint received 10,194 search warrants between January and June 2016 (its most recent reporting period), but does not disclose how often it complies with warrants.

In Reynolds’ case, the BCA requested all data from her three Facebook accounts, including messages, wall posts, and photographs with metadata that would show when the picture was taken and what device was used. The request spanned from July 4th, two days before the shooting, until July 8th. BCA also requested data from Castile’s account for the same time period.

The bureau also requested a log of Reynolds’ calls and text messages from Sprint, as well as cell phone tower data that would reveal her location during the four-day period. Sprint complied, sending the voicemails in August and additional data in October.

In contrast, investigators subpoenaed the phone records of officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot Castile, that covered just one day—from July 6th at 9pm through July 7th at midnight.

The BCA justified its request by saying it was looking for evidence of “criminal activity” conducted by the couple. Shortly after Castile’s death, Officer Yanez claimed that he smelled weed in the vehicle; Reynolds admitted this was true later, but said neither she nor Castile had been smoking at the time. Yanez also reportedly told the couple they had been pulled over for a broken taillight, though he also claimed he stopped the vehicle because he believed Castile fit the description of someone who was involved in a nearby robbery. That claim was never validated. (A spokesperson for BCA declined to comment for this story.)

“Individuals frequently call and/or text messages to each other regarding criminal activity during and/or after and [sic] event has occurred,” BCA special agent Bill O’Donnell wrote in the warrant application. “The Affiant is also of the belief that a review and analysis of text messages and chats regarding the individuals involved in this incident may in fact assist in corroborating or refuting statements made by the individual involved in this investigation.”

The warrants were accompanied by indefinite gag orders that, if enforced, would have prevented Facebook and Sprint from ever notifying Reynolds about the search of her messages.

Corn argued that Facebook should be allowed to notify Reynolds and Castile’s family about the warrants, the emails show. BCA’s investigation into the shooting was already public and had been discussed by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, so there was no reason for secrecy. Facebook had also temporarily preserved data from Reynolds’ and Castile’s accounts, so even if Reynolds was informed of the warrant, she wouldn’t be able to erase data.

“We respectfully request that you seek to formally remove or strike the nondisclosure orders included with the warrants. Facebook then intends to provide notice to the users (including the deceased user’s next of kin and legal representative(s)) and to allow the users a minimum of 10 days to submit any objections they may have to the Court over the basis for, or scope of, these warrants,” Corn wrote.

Even though Corn asked to speak with a lawyer with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office or the Department of Justice, Mueller demurred, apparently preferring to handle the legal argument himself.

Mueller asked if Facebook would consider a delayed notification that would allow BCA to search Reynolds’ account before she was notified. After more than a week of back-and-forth, Corn warned Mueller that Facebook would file a legal challenge to the warrants.

“The sooner you can tell us whether you will be rescinding the warrants the better as we are preparing legal filings now,” he wrote.

On July 20, Mueller finally rescinded the warrants to Facebook.

Although it has taken nearly a year for her suspicions to be proven correct, Reynolds believed in the aftermath of the shooting that she was being treated like a suspect. “I was treated like a criminal,” she said on the day after the shooting. “I was treated like I was the one who did this.”

Reynolds said that police took her phone away after she live-streamed the shooting, and that she begged them to give it back, worrying they would take down the video from her Facebook page. The video did indeed disappear for about an hour, which Facebook attributed to a “technical glitch,” and was later reinstated.

“Diamond was not a suspect and was nothing but a victim in this case,” her attorney, Larry Rogers Jr., told Gizmodo. “I did think it was an invasion of her personal privacy to begin to dig into her personal communications when she was nothing other than a witness and a victim.”

Rogers said that Sprint apparently complied with the gag order—it never informed Rogers that it was turning over Reynolds’ phone records. He said that details about BCA’s investigation into Reynolds’ communications have only recently become known after Jeronimo Yanez, the officer who shot Castile, was acquitted last week.

“It’s an example of how far the authorities go in some instances,” Rogers said. “When it relates to investigation of witnesses, I think it’s entirely questionable conduct.”

Andrea

06-25-2017, 07:38 AM

Man killed by King County deputy was carrying a pen, not a knife as initially reported

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/man-killed-by-king-county-deputy-was-carrying-a-pen-not-a-knife-as-initially-reported/ (http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/man-killed-by-king-county-deputy-was-carrying-a-pen-not-a-knife-as-initially-reported/)

A 20-year-old man, fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy last week after he reportedly stabbed at a Burien homeowner’s door and charged deputies with what was believed to be a knife, was actually carrying a pen, the King County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

The sheriff’s office originally reported that Tommy Le had a sharp object and advanced on two deputies around midnight on June 13. However, sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West said Le was holding a pen.

West said the department won’t release a photo of the pen. Deputies aren’t equipped with dashboard or body cameras, she said.

Le’s death was the second deadly police shooting in King County in the past two weeks. Two Seattle police officers shot and killed Charleena Lyles, 30, on Sunday after they say she threatened them with two knives in her apartment when they responded to an alleged burglary.

Lyles’ death has sparked community outrage while Le’s death has largely gone unnoticed.

Little is known about Le, except that he lived nearby and had no criminal history, said West.

Linh Thai, director of Seattle’s Vietnamese Community Leadership Institute, told the Seattle Weekly that the Vietnamese-American community is dealing with a range of emotions.

“I think the community is struggling with two narratives. On the one hand, it’s a fellow Vietnamese-American person, a member of the community, and that them being shot dead by anyone regardless of whether it is police is difficult for the community to grapple with,” Thai told the Seattle Weekly, which first reported that Le was carrying a pen when he was killed. “It’s impacting everyone in that sense.

“On the other hand, the community also has a tradition of respecting the law. … We trust the police. They’ll tell us what happened when they’re ready to tell us.”

The Burien incident started when a friend of a homeowner in the 13600 block of Third Avenue South reported someone was chasing him with a knife and yelling. The homeowner went outside and thought he saw a man holding a “knife or some sort of sharp object in his hand,” according to a sheriff’s news release issued after the shooting.

The homeowner fired his handgun into the ground, hoping to scare the man, the sheriff’s office said. But the man approached him and he fled back inside his house.

West said the man then pounded on the door and stabbed it, while screaming he was “the Creator.”

Deputies responded to several 911 calls reporting a gunshot. When two deputies arrived, several neighbors pointed him out at the corner of 128th Street and Third Avenue South.

“Citizens yelled ‘there he is’ as he was coming back,” West said Friday. “The officers went to talk with him and he started charging at them with what they thought was a knife. The deputies ordered him repeatedly to put it down.”

Both deputies fired their Tasers, with one deputy hitting Le. But that didn’t stop Le, who was refusing deputies’ commands, West said.

Deputy Cesar Molina shot Le three times, she said. One of the deputies performed first aid and called medics. Le was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died.

Le carried no identification.

West said toxicology reports are pending from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

She said the sheriff’s office didn’t send out a second news release clarifying the initial account because she was on vacation and when she returned there had been no further inquiries.

Molina has been with the sheriff’s office for two-and-a-half years and had taken 40 hours of hour crisis-intervention training. Molina also worked as a deputy in California for two-and-a-half years, West added.

The city of Burien contracts with the sheriff’s office for police services.

Molina is on administrative leave while a criminal investigation and an administrative review continue, West said.

Andrea

06-28-2017, 07:17 AM

Bad officers let go due to misconduct moving easily to new departments, sheriff says

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/defenders/bad-officers-let-go-due-to-misconduct-moving-easily-to-new-departments-sheriff-says (http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/defenders/bad-officers-let-go-due-to-misconduct-moving-easily-to-new-departments-sheriff-says)

One of Michigan's top police officers said enough isn't being done to weed out bad cops. Instead, problem officers move from department to department when something goes wrong.

Many agencies don't share information when they fire an officer, which allows the officer to get hired again somewhere else. It's happened dozens of times in Metro Detroit and can put all of the state's citizens at risk.

When police get in trouble on the job for roughing up a citizen, drug and alcohol abuse or insensitive racial or sexist remarks, they are often given a choice: They can resign or be fired.

Many officers choose to walk away, and they end up right back on the beat at a new police department, where nobody is aware of their past bad behavior.

"They're unaffectionately called gypsy cops," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. "Where they move around and sometimes the hiring agency doesn't have any knowledge of the background."

Bouchard said dozens of Metro Detroit cops have been forced out or fired only to end up across town patrolling streets and interacting with the public, potentially putting citizens at risk.

"Absolutely, it's common," Bouchard said. "It's especially common in certain kinds of communities that may be financially stressed. Where they don't maybe have the resources to do some of the backgrounds."

In 2015, Inkster police Officer William Melendez was arrested, charged and sent to prison for beating motorist Flody Dent after a traffic stop.

"I thought he was going to kill me," Dent said.

Before Melendez was an Inkster officer, he worked in Detroit. He left the Detroit Police Department after multiple lawsuits and a federal indictment were filed against him for roughing up citizens and tampering with evidence.

Melendez tried to get a job at the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, but a background check raised multiple red flags. A short time later, Melendez was hired in Highland Park and Inkster as a police officer.

"To pin a badge on that person's chest after what had transpired at a different agency was a recipe for disaster," Bouchard said. "Those are the kinds of high-profile cases, exactly what that speaks to. When those things happen once, they should not be allowed to happen again."

"Why should the police be immune from that?" attorney Greg Rholl said. "They should have some oversight mechanism."

Rholl is Dent's attorney, and he said his client settled the lawsuit for $1.3 million -- money the taxpayers in the financially troubled city of Inkster had to pay.

"We pushed three buttons on Google and found all the information we need to scare us, and to say, 'What was he doing on the police force?'" Rholl said.

Residents said they were shocked to hear that many small police departments can't afford to do background checks.

"They definitely should do a background check," said Gwendolyn Davis, of Westland. "You don't know what you're hiring."

The problem is even bigger. Michigan police agencies that force an officer to resign often refuse to tell other agencies why they parted ways with the cop out of fear they will be sued.

Bouchard supports a new Senate bill that would force police agencies to create and keep records of why each police officer left, and would make departments immune from civil lawsuits for sharing the information.

Some said they would like to see even more accountability. In Michigan, it's not permitted to have prospective employees take a polygraph test. Some officials believe before they are hired, applicants should be quizzed on past crimes, lawsuits and firings while hooked up to a lie detector.

"When I became a police officer I took a polygraph test," Bouchard said. "A lie detector. Why would you prohibit that?"

It's also prohibited to look at applicants' private social media accounts. Agencies could learn a lot about a prospective officer by what they post, but the law only allows employers to look at public accounts, not those with privacy settings.

"I would like to know that the people who are looking over the city, that I can trust them," said Jaclyn Rey, of Whitmore Lake.

Senate Bill 223 is in the House. If it passes, it will go to the governor for consideration. Law enforcement experts said the bill would be a good first step, but much more still needs to be done.

Andrea

06-30-2017, 10:36 AM

Detective who didn't investigate dozens of cases was burned out, defense lawyer says

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2017/06/detective_who_didnt_investigat_1.html (http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2017/06/detective_who_didnt_investigat_1.html)

Looking worn and defeated, a former Clackamas County sheriff's detective stepped to the front of a courtroom Thursday and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to investigate reports of child abuse.

But the charges against Jeffrey Allen Green covered only a small slice of the more than 50 cases that investigators believe Green ignored during his six years as a detective. Green was assigned to an array of crimes in Wilsonville, including rape, the sexual assault of children and theft.

In some cases, Green didn't track down and identify suspects, submit DNA evidence from a rape kit to the state crime lab for analysis or make contact with victims or their families, prosecutors said.

Green closed cases with little or no work done, meaning some victims never saw justice and their attackers may still be walking free, said Deputy District Attorney Bryan Brock.

Defense attorney William Bruce Shepley offered the first public explanation for his client's lapses. He said Green, now 59, experienced health problems in the later years of his career and had a hard time emotionally coping with the horrific cases of abuse he saw.

"He suffered from a terrible case of burnout by the end of this," Shepley told Clackamas County Circuit Judge Michael Wetzel.

Green pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree official misconduct.

The judge abided by the terms of a plea deal and sentenced Green to one year of probation, $1,100 in fines and fees and an order to relinquish his police certification so he can never work as an officer again.

Green won't serve a jail term. As outlined in the plea agreement, he turned himself into the Clackamas County Jail after his sentencing hearing. Staff took his fingerprints and his mugshot, then released him 33 minutes later.

It's the very jail that Green locked up the suspects he'd arrested during his 22-year career as a sheriff's detective. Now the tables have turned.

Wearing baggy blue jeans and an oversized black short-sleeve shirt, Green didn't make any statements before the judge in the courthouse where he'd testified for the prosecution so many times before. Green also declined to comment after the hearing.

Brock told the judge that he'd worked with Green on several cases and the DA's Office worked with him on a regular basis. He said Green was a "very experienced" detective and his mishandling of dozens cases wasn't due to a lack of intellect.

"I do know Detective Green, and I certainly know him to be a capable detective when he chose to be so," Brock said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owen told The Oregonian/OregonLive that his office didn't perceive any potential conflicts of interest with handling Green's case. And given his retirement two years ago, Green isn't someone the DA's Office will work with again.

Brock wrote in a memo to the judge that Green's malfeasance came to light after sheriff's Sgt. Matt Swanson doggedly pursued the case. Days after being assigned to the Wilsonville office in February 2015, Swanson noticed problems with Green's work and began pushing his supervisors to take action.

Green retired in April 2015, but Swanson still pressed the Sheriff's Office to investigate Green. It took more than a year after Swanson first raised red flags for the Sheriff's Office to call upon an outside agency -- the Milwaukie Police Department -- to independently investigate Green in March 2016.

On Thursday, Brock said Green "had neglected his duties to a level I had not seen before."

Those strong words drew an audible gasp from Green's wife, who was sitting in the courtroom gallery. She put her hand on her forehead and began shaking her head back and forth.

"Ma'am," the judge said, in an effort to quiet her down.

"Sorry," she said.

Brock continued, saying that prosecutors charged Green with the only crimes it could: failing to investigate reports of child abuse that were sent to him by child welfare workers. State law required Green to initiate an investigation, and when he didn't he became guilty of second-degree official misconduct, Brock said.

The type of cases Green neglected, he said, were generally tougher cases, and it's questionable whether any of them would have netted convictions.

"They were challenging cases from the start," Brock said. "They were the ones that required a lot of extra work."

Shepley, Green's defense attorney, said he hopes the public focuses on Green's many accomplishments over his more than three-decades long career as a police officer and detective, rather than the criminal case against him focusing on the "twilight" of his career.

"In some respects, the county owes him a big debt," Shepley said.

Green now lives in La Grande. At the time he retired, he was making nearly $89,000 a year. He now draws an annual pension of $51,863 under the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System.

Andrea

06-30-2017, 12:50 PM

Hundreds of civilians prevented from filming NYPD cops as officers knock cellphones away, threaten arrests: report

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-cops-knock-phones-threaten-arrests-civilians-film-article-1.3283987?utm_content=bufferb84f7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-cops-knock-phones-threaten-arrests-civilians-film-article-1.3283987?utm_content=bufferb84f7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer)

NYPD officers have been accused of trying to prevent hundreds of civilians from videotaping them over the past three years by knocking cell phones from their hands, blocking them or threatening to arrest them, according to a report by the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

The CCRB received 257 complaints from 2014 to 2016, making 346 allegations that officers tried to interfere with civilian recordings of police activity, according to the report, released early Wednesday.

The watchdog agency substantiated 96 of those 346 allegations, or 28%.

The CCRB is recommending that the NYPD add a new Patrol Guide entry with guidelines on what to do if a civilian pulls out a camera phone and starts taping — including a section describing the public’s right to record police activity.

More than half of the complaints were made by people recording their own interactions with cops, and in 65 cases, the officers were accused of damaging the recording device or deleting the recording.

Andrea

07-05-2017, 07:18 AM

Civilians shouldn’t have to de-escalate police

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article159117354.html (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article159117354.html)

Thank you to my friends and people throughout the country who have reached out to show support in the wake of my potentially tragic encounter with Knoxville Officer Matthew Janish. I also thank Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch for coming to Charlotte to explain the decision not to discipline Officer Janish and answer my questions. I am disappointed, but not surprised. The system is broken.

On May 3, I was confronted at gunpoint by Officer Janish while I was putting a license plate on an SUV that I purchased from his mother-in-law the previous week. The incident occurred in her driveway, which is across the street from Officer Janish’s home. Janish, who was off-duty, thought I was stealing the truck. After investigating, Knoxville Police determined that Officer Janish’s actions were “lawful and proper.”

My case is another example of how the system is broken. Although my encounter didn’t end tragically, it could have, as all too many have (Philando Castile, Walter Scott, Michael Brown and others), and his actions likely would have still been deemed “lawful and proper.”

The system is designed to exonerate police officers, not provide justice for their victims. My incident, however, gives me new insight into just how much the law values police lives over the citizens they are supposed to protect.

Chief Rausch said that when investigating complaints, it is essential to understand an officer’s mindset to determine the facts. A mindset is not a fact.

Knoxville Police are looking into an officer’s actions after a Charlotte woman said the off-duty officer pulled a gun on her as she changed a license plate on her newly purchased SUV. Tonya Jameson, 45, is a former Charlotte Observer reporter and columnist.

Here are the facts that Janish appeared to focus on – the unmarked cab, a black person, the duffel bag and the license plate.

Then here are other facts that he ignored – he knew his mother-in-law was selling the car, it was broad daylight, and I knew her first name, but not her last name. I offered to show him the keys, registration and bill of sale signed by his mother-in-law.

Those are the actual facts. Officer Janish’s mindset was the scenario he created in his head. His fears weren’t facts.

The moment I arrived at Officer Janish’s mother-in-law’s house I became a suspect, and under the law, it seems that Officer Janish became a victim. He could have stayed at his house, called 911 and waited for the sheriff’s department to arrive. Instead he grabbed his weapon and came outside to confront me.

Had I not reacted calmly, Officer Janish likely would have been within his legal rights to shoot me although I wasn’t doing anything illegal. My mere presence with a duffel bag was deemed a threat.

In her statement, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero talked about the extensive training officers receive in appropriate use of force and de-escalation. Asking common-sense questions, before unholstering a weapon, should also be included in police training.

I’m sure the situation looked questionable from Officer Janish’s house, but it warranted the question “what are you doing?” That’s exercising common sense. That’s de-escalation.

During his visit, Chief Rausch talked about lessons learned. I didn’t overreact. I didn’t get angry. So, I survived. He said my behavior is how everyone should act in those situations – comply, survive and complain later. But, it’s not natural to be accused of doing something wrong and not prove your innocence.

I wanted to show him the keys or reach into my bag for the registration and bill of sale. I fought every impulse to do anything that would make him feel threatened. I don’t have de-escalation training. I’m the one being held at gunpoint. I’m the one thinking my life could end if he panics. Yet, I’m the one expected to remain calm.

It seems that the legal system is really asking civilians to de-escalate adrenaline-fueled cops. We must remain calm while facing a loaded gun while the trained officers can panic and overreact.

What about our lives? Who protects us from the people who are supposed to protect us?

Andrea

07-09-2017, 08:02 AM

Update: Audio Interview Confirms Dejuan Guillory Was Unarmed, Lying on The Ground When a Cop Shot Him In The Back

http://www.theroot.com/dejuan-guillory-was-unarmed-lying-on-the-ground-when-a-1796731246 (http://www.theroot.com/dejuan-guillory-was-unarmed-lying-on-the-ground-when-a-1796731246)

Update: Saturday, July 8, 2017, 11:49 p.m. EST- A new interview sheds light on the Mamou, La., death of Dejuan Guillory. The interview is with Joe Long, the attorney for DeQuince Brown, who witnessed an Evangeline Parish Sherriff Deputy shoot Guillory in the back on July 6, killing him.

Pen Point News investigative reporter Daniel Banguell’s interview with Long confirms many of the details reported earlier. Brown has been unable to tell her side of the story, as she has been in jail with charges of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer since the incident.

In the recording, Long affirms that Guillory was on the ground with his hands behind his back, begging for his life, pleading, “please don’t shoot me, I have three kids,” when Paul Lafleur first shot Guillory. Long states:

“They were both on the ground. Guillory was on the ground, on his belly, his hands behind his back, and the officer had a gun trained at Guillory’s back, maybe a foot or two from Guillory’s body. They were still arguing back and forth but Guillory was on the ground as directed. His hands were behind his back. He was not resisting. All of a sudden, a shot rang out.”

According to Long, DeQuince Brown then jumped on the officer’s back to prevent him from killing her boyfriend and bit LaFleur (hence the reported injuries to the officer). LaFluer then fired three more shots at Guillory.

Long also states that two ambulances came to the scene, but “One ambulance loaded the deputy in and took him to the hospital. The other one left empty. When she left in a police car, Guillory’s body was still on the gravel road.” When asked if anyone treated Guillory, the attorney added, “As far as she knows, she never witnessed anybody attempt CPR for Guillory. It may have happened, but she didn’t see it.”

Earlier: Dejuan Guillory was 27-years-old. Everyone who knows him calls him sweet, hard-working and charming. Everyone who ever laid eyes on him objectively says he was good looking. He loved his children. He had a troubled past that he put behind him, but he had a promising future as a concrete contractor.

So, when a sheriff’s deputy stood over Guillory in an isolated road in the backwoods of Louisiana, fired multiple shots into his back and left him there to die, he didn’t kill DeJuan, he transformed him. Before Guillory took his last breath on a dusty, Southern road just outside of the tiny town of Mamou, La., he was a man with a future moving away from his past. He was a loving father, a smile and promise.

Now, Dejuan Guillory is just dead.

As soon as he was served death through the barrel of an infallible police officer’s gun, Guillory was changed. First he became a “suspect.” Then they made him into a thug. Soon he will be a villain. Then a martyr. Then a hashtag. Then attorneys and a judge in a courtroom somewhere will refer to him as “the deceased” before he eventually disappears into the ether like the bullet-riddled dark-skinned bodies before him—just another dead, black thing.
Dejuan Guillory and DeQuince Brown

But on the morning of July 6, DeJuan Guillory was alive. According to his family members, Guillory had just been paid for two concrete jobs and wanted to do something with his new girlfriend—DeQuince Erin Brown. Guillory decided they would hop on his all-terrain vehicle and go recreational frog hunting, called “frogging” in Southwest Louisiana.

Brown says through the Guillory family’s attorney Pride Doran in an exclusive interview with The Root, that the couple was on the ATV on Chad Lane when they happened upon a parked vehicle. The car flashed its lights, stopping the couple, and out stepped Paul Holden LaFleur, a deputy with the Evangeline Parish Sherrif’s Department.

There are several questions as to why LaFleur was parked in the middle of nowhere at 4 a.m. in the morning. The police department says he was answering a burglary call. It is unclear whether LaFleur was on duty, in police uniform or even in a marked car, but both Guillory and his girlfriend recognized LaFleur as an officer. The officer allegedly asked both parties for identification and when they objected, LaFleur ordered them off the four-wheeler. Doran says that Guillory and the officer got into a heated argument and after a brief altercation, LaFleur told Brown and Guillory to get on the ground.

According to Doran, who represents Guillory’s family, both Brown and Guillory complied, but when Guillory was prostrate on the ground, LaFluer reportedly fired his weapon multiple times at Guillory, shooting Guillory three or four times.

In.

His.

Back.

But of course, LaFleur did as he was trained and immediately called for backup and medical care, right?

Nope.

Doran told The Root that the deputy went back to his car and stayed there for an extended period of time. However, during their altercation, LaFleur happened to drop his police radio, and it was Brown who called for help, using LaFleur’s radio.

Then, like so many unarmed black men before him did during police encounters, Dejuan Guillory lay down and died.

Thus began the transformation of Dejuan Guillory.

It started immediately. LaFleur said he was attacked, so DeQuince Brown was arrested on attempted first-degree attempted murder of a police officer. Then the police announced that LaFleur (who was parked on a dirt road at 4:10 a.m. with his lights off) was in the area answering a burglary call (even though no one in the area knew of such a burglary).

You could see it happening. The Acadiana Advocate kicked it off by calling it an “officer-involved shooting.” Dequince Brown was no longer a girlifrend out frogging with her boyfriend, she was now an attempted murderer. But that wasn’t enough, so The Daily Advertiser dug into Guillory’s past and reported it this way:

It’s unclear why Guillory wasn’t in jail since he was sentenced in December by 13th Judicial District Court Judge Gary Ortego to 10 years in jail, with all but five years suspended, according to documents with the Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court Office.

Guillory was arrested in August 2015 after he allegedly stole an ATM from Citizen’s Bank using a backhoe, according to news reports at the time.

See how it works? Guillory was supposed to be in jail, according to them. But even now that they had successfully turned the corpse into a criminal, they were not yet done. They then made him into a suspect. Here is a sample of the headlines:
Burglary suspect killed, deputy wounded in Mamou shooting

An Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s deputy was wounded and a burglary was suspected was killed in a…

Suspect killed in deputy-involved shooting identified

To be clear, Dejuan Guillory was never questioned about a burglary. DeQuince Brown’s charges do not include burglary charges. She has been in jail for 48 hours and no law enforcement official has asked her about a burglary.

Apparently they believe Brown hopped on an ATV before dawn and drove down a country road with the “specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon a fireman, peace officer, or civilian employee of the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory or any other forensic laboratory engaged in the performance of his lawful duties, or when the specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm is directly related to the victim’s status as a fireman, peace officer, or civilian employee.”

Brown and Guillory have now been mysteriously transformed before our eyes. This is the prestidigitation that magically metamorphosizes black boys into thugs, black women into miscreants and black bodies into cadavers.

That is what Dejuan Guillory has become—a lifeless afterthought in a small-town newspaper. A mythical, scoundrel supercriminal who can overpower armed cops while lying on the ground.

Or, as Paul LaFluer intended—just a dead, black thing.

Andrea

07-09-2017, 10:06 AM

Caught On Camera: Police Officer Push Woman Out Of Her Wheelchair!

http://www.thegrandreport.com/caught-camera-police-officer-push-woman-wheelchair/ (http://www.thegrandreport.com/caught-camera-police-officer-push-woman-wheelchair/)

Andrea: Click link to see video

Andrea

07-12-2017, 08:33 PM

Black Teen ‘Mistaken’ for Larger, Bald Black Man Says Police in Calif. Drew Gun on Her, Punched Her in the Mouth

http://www.theroot.com/black-teenager-mistaken-for-larger-bald-black-man-says-1796840022 (http://www.theroot.com/black-teenager-mistaken-for-larger-bald-black-man-says-1796840022)

A black 19-year-old woman says she was confronted by police at gunpoint, punched in the mouth and bitten by a police dog after Bakersfield, Calif., police apparently mistook her for a much larger, bald black man who was suspected of threatening people with a machete at a nearby grocery store.

According to the Bakersfield Californian, Tatyana Hargrove’s story is picking up more and more attention since the NAACP in Bakersfield posted a video to its Facebook page of her sharing her story. That video, in which Hargrove insists that race played a role in the brutal encounter, has gotten 3.8 million views so far.

In the video, the 19-year-old is holding crutches and close-ups are shown of the scratches, bites and other bruises on her body and face that were suffered during the June 18 encounter with Bakersfield police.

Hargrove explained in the video that she had ridden her bicycle to a local store to buy a Father’s Day gift before realizing the establishment was closed. On her way back home, she stopped to get a drink of water out of her backpack. That’s when she noticed three police cars behind her. The teen said one of the officers already had his gun drawn by the time he got out of his patrol car.

The teen said that officers demanded to see her backpack, but she asked them for a warrant. When officers pointed out their K9 dog to her, Hargrove said she got scared and gave them her backpack, but that at that point the officer grabbed her by the wrist and neck and punched her and threw her on the ground. At that point, she said, the K9 dog bit her.

Hargrove says one officer put his knee in her back and another knee on her head.

“I told him ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe’ and then I started yelling out, ‘Somebody help, somebody help me, they’re gonna kill me!’” she said.

Ultimately, the teen was arrested on suspicion of resisting or delaying an officer and aggravated assault on an officer.

Bakersfield police say they mistook the 5-foot-2, 115-pound Hargrove, age 19, for a suspect who was described as being a 25- to 30-year-old bald man with a goatee, who stands at around 5 foot 10 and weighs 170 pounds.

Hargrove, arresting Officer Christopher Moore wrote in a report, “appeared to be a male and matched the description of the suspect that had brandished a machete and was also within the same complex the suspect had fled to.”

Moore accused Hargrove of ignoring police commands and putting her feet on her bike pedals, appearing as if “she was going to flee.”

At no point does the report say that Hargrove actually left the scene.

Moore said that as another officer, identified as G. Vasquez, was handcuffing the teen, she spun her left shoulder into him, knocking Vasquez off balance and taking him to the ground. Hargrove, police say, fell on top of Vasquez and then spun around into a “mounting position.” That was when Vasquez punched her in the mouth, according to the report.

Moore said at that point he realized Hargrove was within reach of her backpack, in which Moore still apparently suspected held a machete, causing him to release his K9.

Right ...

Moore said he didn’t realize Hargrove was a woman until she told him her first name, “Tatyana.”

“Don’t lie to me, that’s a girl’s name. What is your name?” Moore asked.

“I’m a girl. I just don’t dress like one,” she said.

The actual suspect police were looking for, 24-year-old Douglas Washington, was arrested the next day and remains in jail.

Andrea

07-13-2017, 06:35 AM

Video shows man caught in bite by SDPD K9
Andrea: Video shows handcuffed, down on the ground black man being bitten by K9 police unable to control

v=5LwicxB8-uQ

Andrea

07-14-2017, 11:02 AM

Video shows police officer beating homeless woman

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/11/us/georgia-police-beating/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/11/us/georgia-police-beating/index.html)

A police department in Georgia has reopened an internal investigation after a cellphone video surfaced showing a DeKalb County police officer striking a homeless woman with his baton several times during an arrest.

The incident occurred at a gas station station in Decatur on June 4. The officer had gone to the Chevron in response to a complaint about the woman begging for money from customers.

The video posted on YouTube doesn't show what led to the incident.

It starts with a tense scene in which the woman, identified as Katie McCrary in a police report, is on the floor as a male police officer beats her with his baton. The officer had filed a Use of Force report after the incident and had been cleared following an internal affairs investigation.

In light of the new cellphone video, the DeKalb County Police Department said in a statement Monday: "Now that the Department has this new evidence we have reopened the investigation and will determine whether the incident is consistent with policy and the law."

The incident marks another controversy that has risen over the scrutiny of police tactics.

The identity of the police officer in the Decatur incident hasn't been released.

In his incident report dated June 5, the police officer said, when he arrived at the gas station, McCrary "attempted to push me out of the way and walk out of the door."

McCrary allegedly tried to walk past the officer again and told him she was a federal agent, according to his incident report. More words were exchanged and McCrary "reached out and grabbed my badge," and after being warned not to touch him, she "grabbed my vest and radio," according to his incident report. He said he used his baton on her legs, forearms and "one strike inadvertently struck the side of her head as she was moving around."

The cellphone video starts with McCrary lying on the floor with her arms and legs in the air as she attempts to kick at the officer who is standing. He swats her multiple times with his baton.

"Hey, Katie. Stop resisting!" yells an unknown man in the store. "Stop resisting."

The officer strikes her several more times as the woman squirms on the ground.

At one point, he places the baton on the back of her neck and pins her down with his knee on her back. When she grabs his baton, he says twice, "Let it go, or I'm going to shoot you."

"No. Please don't shoot her," a bystander says.

Near the end of the video, the officer places her in handcuffs.

McCrary asks repeatedly, "What did I do? What did I do wrong?"

DeKalb County Police Department said in a statement, "The narrative in the officer's report appears to be consistent with the video."

The officer wrote in his incident report that he took McCrary to DeKalb County Jail, "where she was refused and deferred to Grady Memorial Hospital for further evaluation." He noted she had a half-inch cut on her shin and a welt on her forearm. She was later released by the hospital.

McCrary was charged with obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers. She was given a criminal trespass warning at the request of the convenience store manager, police said.

CNN is attempting to reach McCrary or her lawyer.

CNN affiliate WGCL reported McCrary is currently in jail for an unrelated charge. One man who says he knows McCrary told WGCL that she's often seen at the store asking for money and alluded to mental health issues.

Andrea

07-16-2017, 10:12 PM

Minneapolis Police Officer Fatally Shoots Australian Woman Who Called 911 for Help

http://fusion.kinja.com/minneapolis-police-officer-fatally-shoots-australian-wo-1796964768?utm_source=fusion_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_campaign=socialflow_fusion_facebook&utm_content=link (http://fusion.kinja.com/minneapolis-police-officer-fatally-shoots-australian-wo-1796964768?utm_source=fusion_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_campaign=socialflow_fusion_facebook&utm_content=link)

A 40–year–old spiritual healer from Australia who was engaged to be married next month was shot and killed Saturday night by a Minneapolis police after calling 911 to report suspicious activity in an alley by her home.

Police have not released many details of the shooting, and family members of the woman’s fiancé, a 50–year–old Minnesota man, say they are frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the police department.

The name of the victim, who lived in the U.S. for about three years, has not been released pending notification of relatives in Australia.

A statement by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released Sunday and reported by the Star Tribune said that two officers responded to the 911 call about a possible assault in an alley off W. 51st Street around 11:30 p.m.

“At one point one officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman,” the statement said.

The son of the victim’s fiancé said she would have walked about 100 yards in a well–lit alley to reach the scene of the shooting.

According to the Tribune, the responding officers’ body cameras were turned off during the incident, and patrol car cameras were unable to record what happened.

The shooting occurred just over a year after former police officer Jeronimo Yanez shot and killed Philando Castile in a St. Paul suburb during a traffic stop. Castile, whose girlfriend and her 4–year–old daughter were in the car at the time, had complied with the officer’s orders when Yanez inexplicably began firing.

Last month, a mostly white jury found Yanez not guilty of manslaughter charges, sparking nationwide protests including in Minneapolis–St. Paul, where thousands took to the streets in anger after the verdict was announced.

A vigil and rally for the latest victim was planned for Sunday evening in the southern Minneapolis neighborhood where the shooting occurred.

Andrea

07-21-2017, 08:47 PM

How Fake Cops Got $1.2 Million in Real Weapons

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/07/21/how-fake-cops-got-1-2-million-in-real-weapons?ref=hp-1-112#.Cs5eHRmFT (https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/07/21/how-fake-cops-got-1-2-million-in-real-weapons?ref=hp-1-112#.Cs5eHRmFT)

When you think of a federal sting operation involving weaponry and military gear, the Government Accountability Office doesn’t immediately jump to mind. The office is tasked with auditing other federal agencies to root out fraud and abuse, usually by asking questions and poring over paperwork.

This year, the agency went a little more cowboy. The GAO created a fictitious law enforcement agency — complete with a fake website and a bogus address that traced back to an empty lot — and applied for military-grade equipment from the Department of Defense.

And in less than a week, they got it.

A GAO report issued this week says the agency’s faux cops were able to obtain $1.2 million worth of military gear, including night-vision goggles, simulated M-16A2 rifles and pipe bomb equipment from the Defense Department’s 1033 program, which supplies state and local law enforcement with excess materiel. The rifles and bomb equipment could have been made functional with widely available parts, the report said.

From left, examples of night-vision goggles, a simulated M-16A2 rifle and a pipe bomb trainer obtained from the Department of Defense by the Government Accountability Office through a fictitious law enforcement agency. GAO

“They never did any verification, like visit our ‘location,’ and most of it was by email,” said Zina Merritt, director of the GAO’s defense capabilities and management team, which ran the operation. “It was like getting stuff off of eBay.”

In its response to the sting, the Defense Department promised to tighten its verification procedures, including trying to visit the location of law enforcement agencies that apply and making sure agents picking up supplies have valid identification, the GAO report said. The department also promised to do an internal fraud assessment by April 2018.

A Defense Department spokesman declined to comment further.

The sting operation has its roots in the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. At the time, many were surprised to see law enforcement respond to protests with armored trucks, sniper rifles, tear-gas bombs and other weapons of war.

Reporting by The Marshall Project and others found that much of the equipment came from the obscure 1033 program, which dates back to the Clinton era. Any equipment the U.S. military was not using — including Humvees, grenades, scuba-diving gear and even marching-band instruments — was available to local cops who could demonstrate a need.

The program has transferred more than $6 billion worth of supplies to more than 8,600 law enforcement agencies since 1991.

After Ferguson, then-President Barack Obama issued an executive order prohibiting the military from giving away some equipment and deeming other equipment “controlled,” establishing strict oversight and training requirements for law enforcement agencies that wanted it. The order also required a Defense Department and Justice Department working group to ensure oversight.

But since President Donald Trump took office, the group has not met, according to the Constitution Project, a bipartisan thinktank that had been participating in the meetings. Trump has said that he will revoke Obama’s executive order, although he has not yet.

Congress ordered the GAO to look into the program last year. A survey of local law enforcement did not turn up any instances of outright abuse at the state level but did find one illegitimate agency that had applied as a federal entity and was approved for equipment, Merritt said.

That’s when the agency launched the sting. Contrary to its public image, GAO has snagged other agencies with undercover work in the past, including an investigation of the Affordable Care Act in which the agency submitted fictitious applications and was approved for subsidized healthcare coverage.

In this case, the GAO created the fake law enforcement agency — whose name the agency would not reveal — and claimed it did high-level security and counterterrorism work. Once approved, the agency easily obtained the items from a Defense Department warehouse of unused military goods.

Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, which lists rescinding Obama’s executive order one of its top priorities for the Trump administration, said the possibility of fraud does not indict the whole program.

“It suggests only that the U.S. military is one of the world’s largest bureaucracies and as such is going to have some lapses in material control,” Pasco said. “Law enforcement is going to get that equipment and we’re going to use it, to protect both officers and civilians. And if we don’t get it free from the military, we’re going to have to buy it with taxpayer dollars.”

But to Madhuri Grewal, senior counsel for the Constitution Project, and other opponents of police militarization, the problem is more fundamental.

“There just aren’t many everyday policing uses for military equipment like this,” Grewal said. “The question is why can real law enforcement agencies get some of this stuff, let alone fake ones?”

Andrea: Bolding mine

Andrea

07-22-2017, 10:00 AM

Two Baltimore detectives plead guilty in racketeering case

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/21/us/baltimore-police-guilty-pleas/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/21/us/baltimore-police-guilty-pleas/index.html)

Two former Baltimore police officers pleaded guilty Friday to federal racketeering charges, admitting that they committed armed robberies, made fraudulent overtime claims and filed false affidavits.

Detectives Maurice Ward and Evodio Hendrix were among seven Baltimore officers indicted in March as part of an alleged conspiracy involving those and other crimes. The seven officers, members of Baltimore's Gun Trace Task Force, were accused of stopping people -- some of whom were not suspected of any crimes -- seizing their money, and pocketing it.

In one instance, Hendrix and Ward, allegedly with another officer, stole $17,000 in cash from a suspect's house following a SWAT raid.

In another instance, several officers stopped a nursing home maintenance supervisor and stole $1,500 that he was planning to use to pay his rent, according to the indictment.

The stolen amounts range from $200 to $200,000, authorities said.
"These are really robberies by people who are wearing police uniforms," said then-Maryland US Attorney Rod Rosenstein in March.

Attorneys for Ward and Hendrix did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. A spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department said the men are no longer employed with the department.

The other five officers included in the indictment are awaiting trial, scheduled for January 2018.

The indictment said the seven officers schemed to steal money, property and narcotics by detaining people, entering residences, conducting traffic stops and swearing out false search warrant affidavits.

The investigation began a year ago and included electronic surveillance of the officers.

Hendrix and Ward committed "large-scale time and attendance fraud," according to prosecutors, a charged leveled at their five co-defendants as well.

In one instance, Ward, Hendrix and another officer were paid for two days of work while on vacation in the Dominican Republic, according to the indictment.

Two of the officers were heard on a phone call boasting about their colleagues, including Hendrix and Ward, committing overtime fraud for "a whole year" and making "at least $8,000 to $10,000 a month," the indictment states.

"These are 1930's style gangsters as far as I'm concerned," Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said in February. "This is a punch in the gut for the Baltimore Police Department."

The pleas come as the State's Attorney's office reviews about 100 cases in a separate investigation sparked by body camera footage allegedly showing a Baltimore police officer planting evidence at the scene of a January drug arrest.

It is also about seven months after the Justice Department, under former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and the city of Baltimore announced a consent decree mandating police reforms in Baltimore.

That followed a DOJ report which said unconstitutional practices by some of Baltimore's officers lead to a disproportionate rates of stops, searches and arrests of black residents, and excessive use of force against juveniles and those with mental health disabilities.

homoe

07-22-2017, 12:07 PM

I see Betsy Hodges has thrown her Police chef under the bus! By what I saw on the news, I thinking the voters will do the same to her!

*Anya*

07-22-2017, 01:49 PM

They must have watched the Jonah Hill movie (War Dogs) or read the book first. These two guys exploited holes in bidding on government contracts and bought weapons to sell.

Watching it, I kept thinking, "This didn't really or couldn't really happen, could it?"

Our tax dollars at work:

"With the war in Iraq raging on, a young man (Jonah Hill) offers his childhood friend a chance to make big bucks by becoming an international arms dealer.

Together, they exploit a government initiative that allows businesses to bid on U.S. military contracts. Starting small allows the duo to rake in money and live the high life. They soon find themselves in over their heads after landing a $300 million deal to supply Afghan forces, a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people."

From IMDb.com

How Fake Cops Got $1.2 Million in Real Weapons

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/07/21/how-fake-cops-got-1-2-million-in-real-weapons?ref=hp-1-112#.Cs5eHRmFT (https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/07/21/how-fake-cops-got-1-2-million-in-real-weapons?ref=hp-1-112#.Cs5eHRmFT)

When you think of a federal sting operation involving weaponry and military gear, the Government Accountability Office doesn’t immediately jump to mind. The office is tasked with auditing other federal agencies to root out fraud and abuse, usually by asking questions and poring over paperwork.

This year, the agency went a little more cowboy. The GAO created a fictitious law enforcement agency — complete with a fake website and a bogus address that traced back to an empty lot — and applied for military-grade equipment from the Department of Defense.

And in less than a week, they got it.

A GAO report issued this week says the agency’s faux cops were able to obtain $1.2 million worth of military gear, including night-vision goggles, simulated M-16A2 rifles and pipe bomb equipment from the Defense Department’s 1033 program, which supplies state and local law enforcement with excess materiel. The rifles and bomb equipment could have been made functional with widely available parts, the report said.

From left, examples of night-vision goggles, a simulated M-16A2 rifle and a pipe bomb trainer obtained from the Department of Defense by the Government Accountability Office through a fictitious law enforcement agency. GAO

“They never did any verification, like visit our ‘location,’ and most of it was by email,” said Zina Merritt, director of the GAO’s defense capabilities and management team, which ran the operation. “It was like getting stuff off of eBay.”

In its response to the sting, the Defense Department promised to tighten its verification procedures, including trying to visit the location of law enforcement agencies that apply and making sure agents picking up supplies have valid identification, the GAO report said. The department also promised to do an internal fraud assessment by April 2018.

A Defense Department spokesman declined to comment further.

The sting operation has its roots in the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. At the time, many were surprised to see law enforcement respond to protests with armored trucks, sniper rifles, tear-gas bombs and other weapons of war.

Reporting by The Marshall Project and others found that much of the equipment came from the obscure 1033 program, which dates back to the Clinton era. Any equipment the U.S. military was not using — including Humvees, grenades, scuba-diving gear and even marching-band instruments — was available to local cops who could demonstrate a need.

The program has transferred more than $6 billion worth of supplies to more than 8,600 law enforcement agencies since 1991.

After Ferguson, then-President Barack Obama issued an executive order prohibiting the military from giving away some equipment and deeming other equipment “controlled,” establishing strict oversight and training requirements for law enforcement agencies that wanted it. The order also required a Defense Department and Justice Department working group to ensure oversight.

But since President Donald Trump took office, the group has not met, according to the Constitution Project, a bipartisan thinktank that had been participating in the meetings. Trump has said that he will revoke Obama’s executive order, although he has not yet.

Congress ordered the GAO to look into the program last year. A survey of local law enforcement did not turn up any instances of outright abuse at the state level but did find one illegitimate agency that had applied as a federal entity and was approved for equipment, Merritt said.

That’s when the agency launched the sting. Contrary to its public image, GAO has snagged other agencies with undercover work in the past, including an investigation of the Affordable Care Act in which the agency submitted fictitious applications and was approved for subsidized healthcare coverage.

In this case, the GAO created the fake law enforcement agency — whose name the agency would not reveal — and claimed it did high-level security and counterterrorism work. Once approved, the agency easily obtained the items from a Defense Department warehouse of unused military goods.

Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, which lists rescinding Obama’s executive order one of its top priorities for the Trump administration, said the possibility of fraud does not indict the whole program.

“It suggests only that the U.S. military is one of the world’s largest bureaucracies and as such is going to have some lapses in material control,” Pasco said. “Law enforcement is going to get that equipment and we’re going to use it, to protect both officers and civilians. And if we don’t get it free from the military, we’re going to have to buy it with taxpayer dollars.”

But to Madhuri Grewal, senior counsel for the Constitution Project, and other opponents of police militarization, the problem is more fundamental.

“There just aren’t many everyday policing uses for military equipment like this,” Grewal said. “The question is why can real law enforcement agencies get some of this stuff, let alone fake ones?”

Andrea: Bolding mine

Andrea

07-26-2017, 06:52 AM

Officers kill man with no active warrants at wrong house

http://m.wmctv.com/wmctv/db_401748/contentdetail.htm?full=true&contentguid=AUdiWnEV&pn=&ps=#display (http://m.wmctv.com/wmctv/db_401748/contentdetail.htm?full=true&contentguid=AUdiWnEV&pn=&ps=#display)

SOUTHAVEN, MS (WMC) - Documents show that Southaven officers went to the wrong house to serve a warrant on Monday, which resulted in the shooting death of a man who did not have any active warrants out for his arrest.

A warrant out of Tate County shows Samuel Pearman was wanted for domestic assault. But, when Southaven officers arrived on Surrey Lane to arrest Pearman, they did not show up to the correct house.

Instead, officers missed their target by 36 feet. Those 36 feet made all the difference to Ismael Lopez and his wife.

"Someone didn't take the time to analyze the address," attorney Murray Wells, who represents the family, said. "This is incredibly tragic and embarrassing to this police department that they can't read house numbers."

Wells pointed out that the house officers should have gone to, the one where Pearman was located, had a large 'P' on the door. While officials sort out what happened, the man they were looking for took to social media.

Pearson even posted on Facebook Live on Tuesday afternoon claiming he didn't do anything wrong.

"They made me out to be something I'm not," he said. "I haven't hurt her. She's the one who slapped me."

Ismael Lopez and his wife, Claudia Linares, were asleep inside their house across the street from Pearson when officers arrived.

Linares said her husband went to the door to see what was happening outside. That's when she heard gunshots and by the time she reached her husband, he was already dead.

"Bullet holes suggest they shot through the door," Wells said.

Officers said Lopez came to the door pointing a gun at them. Those officers claim to have asked Lopez multiple times to drop the gun before they started shooting.

But, neighbors said they didn't hear anything like that.

"I didn't hear yelling," neighbor Nicholas Tramel said.

Tramel's room is right next to the Lopez home. He said he never heard police tell Lopez to put his rifle down.

Wells implied that officers had reasons not to tell the truth in their account of what happened. Namely, because they could face consequences for shooting Lopez. He also said that Claudia, who was the only one on the property who could not be held responsible for shooting Lopez, did not hear any commands or instructions being given. In addition, Wells said Lopez never pointed a gun at the officers.

"There was a gun on the premises, but the man did not have the gun with him when police shot him," he said.

Wells said Claudia Lopez wants justice and for the world to know that her husband was a good man.

"When they came to my office, it wasn't money they sought. They wanted the story to come out," he said. "What they want everyone to know is who he was and what happened."

Wells described Lopez as a hardworking employee who, up until about four years ago, worked for City of Bartlett as a mechanic.

"They've been in that home for 13 years. The only time the police had ever been there was when they had been robbed," Wells said. "No criminal history whatsoever. A long-standing employee of the city of Bartlett, mechanic. Loved in the neighborhood."

He continued, "This could have happened to anyone. Her [Claudia's] sense of justice doesn't really come from a place of anger, but of confusion."

Andrea

08-06-2017, 05:39 PM

Cellphone videos raise questions about Kentucky State Police cover-up in man’s arrest

http://www.wdrb.com/story/36066730/sunday-edition-cellphone-videos-raise-questions-about-kentucky-state-police-cover-up-in-mans-arrest (http://www.wdrb.com/story/36066730/sunday-edition-cellphone-videos-raise-questions-about-kentucky-state-police-cover-up-in-mans-arrest)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The testimony in front of a Harlan County grand jury last summer left little doubt Lewis Lyttle did not follow orders, became combative and assaulted Kentucky State Police officers as they tried to arrest him outside a hospital.

“We was trying to get him handcuffed and I think Detective Miller was trying to hold his legs to keep him from kicking and he ended up getting kicked too in the chest,” Trooper Jimmy Halcomb testified on Aug. 1, 2016, according to a recording of the grand jury hearing.

“We finally had to force the handcuffs on him because he wasn’t complying with anything.”

But cellphone videos and more than a dozen sworn statements from eyewitnesses paint a different picture, and are the focus of a wrongful arrest and assault lawsuit against police.

State police said an internal investigation completed last month concluded that one of the officers used excessive force and was suspended four months and demoted.

Lyttle’s attorneys argue, however, the investigation didn’t go nearly far enough, and that evidence shows state troopers lied to prosecute Lyttle and tried to cover up their actions from the June 15, 2016 arrest.

“There were several glaring omissions in (Halcomb’s) testimony,” said defense attorney Douglas Asher, who represented Lyttle in his criminal case. “The sad part of it is, that if it weren’t for these witnesses, this old man would be in the penitentiary.”

Lyttle, 68, is a former construction worker who has been disabled since 1992 with a back injury.

On the day of the incident, Lyttle left his home in St. Charles, Virginia, to drive his neighbor to Harlan Appalachian Regional Hospital because she was having problems with chronic bronchitis.

Someone called the police to complain that Lyttle was exposing himself in the hospital parking lot.

When the first witness video begins, Lyttle can be seen sitting on the ground, his hands already handcuffed behind his back as Halcomb and KSP Sgt. Rob Farley hover over him.

In an instant, Farley reaches down and slaps Lyttle across the face, sending him to the pavement.

The woman who filmed the incident on her smartphone from an office overlooking the parking lot and those watching with her can be heard gasping after Lyttle is struck.

“He had no business smacking him in the face,” one woman can be heard saying on the video.

“I bet that’s part of the movie, reckon?” another said, talking about a crew filming in Harlan at the same time.

A second witness, also using a smartphone, captured what happened next.

The officers pick Lyttle up and uncuff him. Farley stands in front of Lyttle and Halcomb behind him. Then, two other KSP officers arrive.

Because the video was filmed inside an office building, it was unclear what was said between Lyttle and the officers, but Lyttle doesn't appear to make any aggressive movements toward them.

Unlike some local departments such as Louisville Metro, state police do not equip their officers with body cameras to record their interactions with the public.

After about 30 seconds, Farley reaches out and grabs Lyttle by his beard, knees him in the stomach and yanks him to the ground.

As Lyttle lies on the pavement, Farley punches him while another officer kicks him, the video shows.

“They are just punching him, beating the s--- out of him,” said the man recording the incident from the window of a nearby building. “Four cops for one man, and as old as he is.”

The officers then handcuffed Lyttle, again, and arrested him.

When he testified to the grand jury, Halcomb did not disclose that he had successfully handcuffed Farley before other officers arrived.

Instead, he tells grand jurors Lyttle resisted, kicking him, and the trooper “hollered for assistance.”

“So it took all of you all to try and get him handcuffed?” the prosecutor asked Halcomb.

“Yes,” Halcomb said.

Halcomb also did not tell jurors about how the officers slapped, punched and kicked Lyttle.

Based on Halcomb’s account, the grand jury indicted Lyttle on charges of assaulting Halcomb and Det. Kevin Miller, driving drunk, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and menacing, among other charges.

Both Lyttle’s criminal attorney and the lawyers representing him in the civil case claim Halcomb lied and intentionally omitted evidence.

“Trooper Halcomb said (Lyttle) was resisting arrest and that he kicked two of the troopers, but the video clearly shows it was the troopers who were kicking Mr. Lyttle as he was laying on the ground,” said David Ward, a Louisville attorney representing Lyttle in the lawsuit, which was filed two days after the incident on June 17, 2016.

The lawsuit remains pending.

“Mr. Lyttle did nothing, he complied with all of the officers’ requests and, during that period of time, he was submissive with them. And as a result of that, he was assaulted, brutally assaulted, for no reason,” Ward said.

Case dismissed

The criminal case against Lyttle unraveled and in January, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the felony charges.

Prosecutors based the decision on evidence that came to light after Lyttle was indicted. That evidence included the two cellphone videos of the incident and 16 sworn statements by witnesses who said Lyttle was the one assaulted.

Harlan County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parker Boggs, who handled the criminal case, did not return phone messages seeking comment.

In February, eight months after the arrest, state police launched an investigation “shortly after the events were brought to our attention,” Trooper Josh Brashears, a KSP spokesman, said in a statement emailed to WDRB News.

In a report completed last month, investigators found Farley used excessive force. He was suspended for 120 days and demoted from sergeant to trooper.

Brashears wrote that troopers were called to the hospital after Lyttle was accused of exposing himself to a juvenile and he then became combative, resisted arrest and spit on troopers.

“But even under these circumstances, KSP officers are trained and expected to uphold professional standards of conduct and must be held accountable for violations,” Brashears wrote in an email to WDRB.

The state police internal investigators questioned the other officers involved with Lyttle’s arrest and cleared them of wrongdoing. Lyttle still has a misdemeanor indecent exposure case pending in Harlan District Court.

And attorneys for the troopers said video of Lyttle’s arrest represents only an incomplete snapshot of what happened.

“You can’t form a conclusion based on just the video,” said attorney Scott Miller, who represents Trooper Kevin Miller, who is accused of kicking Lyttle.

Attorney Jason Nemes, who represents Halcomb, said “we believe our guy did what was appropriate.” Nemes is also a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, where he represents a Middletown-area district.

The attorneys declined to go into detail. Lawyers for the other troopers declined to comment.

In court records, Halcomb said in his investigative summary that after he “forcibly cuffed” Lyttle and sat him on the ground, the trooper noticed the cuffs were too tight and Lyttle’s wrists were bleeding.

When Farley arrived, Halcomb said he decided to uncuff Lyttle and reapply the handcuffs for the defendant’s comfort, according to Halcomb’s summary of the arrest.

After taking the left cuff off, Lyttle “clinched his fist and pulled it back,” prompting Farley to grab his beard and “put his hand up,” Farley wrote in his summary.

When Lyttle would not let Halcomb cuff him, Farley “applied a knee strike” and officers took him to the ground, Halcomb wrote.

Lyttle then “started kicking and being aggressive” and troopers forcibly cuffed him, according to Halcomb.

In a response to the lawsuit, troopers said they were reacting to Lyttle’s conduct and trying to get him to comply with being handcuffed and arrested, claiming he was “fiercely combative, spit at the officers, kicked the officers, tried to draw back his fist ... and refused to comply with repeated lawful commands from the officers to submit to the attempt to peacefully arrest him.”

"Had to fight him"

But the KSP findings, and Halcomb’s investigative summary, are just part of a larger cover-up by state police, Ward said.

He pointed out that several witnesses provided affidavits to investigators saying Lyttle was not aggressive with troopers, didn’t resist arrest and never spit at them.

The other officers should have been punished, and state police failed to hold Halcomb accountable for lying to the grand jury, Ward said.

The lawsuit argues that Halcomb uncuffed Lyttle and Farley began “verbally taunting him in order to provoke him to fight. When Lyttle refused to fight, Farley became infuriated, grabbed Lyttle's long, white beard, violently jerked his head downwards, and then kneed him in the groin area.”

Ward also argues that KSP knew about the alleged use of excessive force long before February, noting multiple witnesses called police during the arrests claiming Lyttle was being assaulted.

One witness identified Farley specifically and told a dispatcher in a 911 call during the incident that she wanted to talk to a supervisor about what she saw, according to a recording of the call in court records.

Lyttle’s attorneys also point to the murky circumstances surrounding the resignation of Lt. Jason Adams, the state police supervisor who immediately followed up on the incident. They claim Adams coached the officers on what to say to avoid culpability.

Adams called the hospital on the day of the arrest and asked for any video, saying his troopers “ended up arresting a guy over there and they had to fight him,” according to audio of a phone call in court records.

The lawsuit claims Adams helped the troopers draft “untruthful memorandums regarding the assault of Lyttle. These memorandums were crafted so that” the troopers “would not be disciplined or criminally charged for their conduct.”

On Jan. 13, 2017, the day the charges against Lyttle were dropped, Adams resigned. On his resignation letter, KSP officials wrote that he would not be considered for rehire as a trooper “or in any other capacity.”

Another note on the resignation letter said: “Based on the circumstances surrounding Lt. Adams’ retirement, I am unable to recommend him” for a program that allows retired troopers to work part-time. The notes do not go into further detail.

One of the hospital employees interviewed by Adams a few weeks after the incident said in an affidavit she believed Adams was trying to protect the troopers rather than find out what really happened.

Misty Mullins said Adams interviewed her about what she saw and “for someone who is supposed to be an un-biased fact finder, (he) went out of his way to inflame my emotions against the old man,” according to her affidavit. “In fact, I think he was nothing but biased.”

She claims Adams told her “that if that old man had exposed himself to my child and I had beaten the old man up that ‘we’ (KSP) … would not even arrest you for it.

“I told Lt. Adams that it didn’t matter what the old man had been accused of, the officers couldn’t just beat him like that,” she said in her sworn statement.

She said Lt. Adams theorized that while he didn’t know what Farley was thinking, he had a young daughter and “he was just upset over what the old man had done (allegedly).”

Mullins wrote that several of her coworkers who also witnessed the incident would not talk to Adams “because it will all be covered up like it normally is and nothing will be done about it anyway.”

The findings by state police also ignore conduct by the other troopers, Ward said.

“To only discipline Sgt. Farley for what occurred, and not the other troopers – who were on video kicking a helpless old man – is troubling,” he said.

The lawsuit is on hold as Lyttle’s attorneys last month asked a federal judge to order Kentucky State Police to turn over records from the internal investigation.

“The ultimate goal in filing the suit is to hold the troopers accountable for their actions,” Ward said. “What they did was reprehensible and … they should be subject to the same laws as everybody else.”

Andrea

08-07-2017, 06:43 AM

A cop stopped a car for speeding - then pointed a gun at a passenger for more than 9 minutes

http://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article165788587.html (http://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article165788587.html)

A video taken during a traffic stop in California is drawing debate over the officer's decision to keep his gun pointed at the passenger for more than nine minutes.

The stop took place last Wednesday morning along U.S. Route 101, south of San Jose, after an officer noticed a car pass him going 85 mph, according to the Campbell Police Department.

After stopping the car for speeding, the officer requested the driver's license and additional paperwork. The driver and passenger spent several minutes looking for the paperwork before the officer walked back to his motorcycle to write a citation, police said.

It was at that point their stories diverged. According to police, the passenger began reaching "under his seat."

"It is not clear why the passenger chose to reach under the seat since the officer was not requesting any other paperwork," Campbell police said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the passenger's unexpected movement towards the bottom of the seat, caused the officer to perceive a threat and draw his handgun."

However, a man sitting in the vehicle's passenger seat - the target of the officer's gun - maintained throughout the incident that he had simply been reaching for some papers on the floor to try to find the vehicle's license and registration, as requested.

A video that apparently was recorded by a woman in the car begins as the male passenger is expressing incredulity that the officer has pulled a gun.

"Wow," the passenger says in the video, laughing. "We're looking for the f-ing paperwork, bro. Oh my God."

"I understand that," the officer replies. "Don't move, all right?"

The passenger sounds indignant as his hands remain on his lap. "Why are you still pointing that gun at me, bro?" he asks the officer. "Why are you still pointing the gun at me, though? Record this sh-t. Why are you still pointing the gun at me, bro? My hands are right here."

"I understand," the officer says.

"No, you don't understand," the passenger protests, as the officer tells him to relax. "No, I'm not going to relax. Get the f-king gun off me."

A woman in the car asks the officer: "Is that really necessary? His hands are both out."

The officer says that it is necessary as he waits for backup to arrive, eliciting another round of protests from the vehicle's passengers. For several more minutes, they remain at an impasse, with the passenger muttering periodic complaints as music plays in the background. The entire time, the officer's gun is trained on the man.

Toward the end, the officer relays something through the radio and the passenger begins protesting again. At one point in the video, the officer mentions that there had been a screwdriver on the floor of the car.

"Why are you trying to make this bigger than it is, bro?" the passenger says. "We complied with everything you asked for."

The video lasts a little more than nine minutes total, and the officer's gun is pointed at the male passenger the entire time. Police said in a statement the officer had to wait longer than usual for backup to arrive "and provide assistance in safely resolving the situation."

"We understand that it is never a comfortable position to have a gun pointed at you, regardless of whether it is a police officer," police said. "Unfortunately, the length of time that the officer's gun was drawn lasted much longer than normal based on his location."

Police said the traffic stop was resolved amicably.

"In the end, the officer had a conversation with the passenger of the vehicle explaining his actions and why the gun was pointed at him," police said. "The passenger indicated he understood why it happened and actually apologized to the officer. Both the driver and the passenger were issued citations and were allowed to leave."

However, the video was uploaded to Facebook last Saturday with a caption that suggested there may not have been as much understanding as police thought. (Note: The video contains profanity.)

"CAMPBELL COP IS A B--!!!!!!!!!!" wrote a Facebook user named "Feo Mas" who identified himself as the passenger in the video. "(He) pulled out a gun cuz I reached for paperwork he asked for."

A week later, the video had amassed nearly 2 million views on Facebook, as well as tens of thousands more on YouTube. Online, a debate raged: Several people defended the police officer and said they felt the passenger should have remained quiet, while others were outraged at how long the officer had trained his gun on the passenger despite the man's hands being visible at all times.

Police departments are under increased scrutiny for violent, often fatal interactions with suspects. So far this year, 594 people have been shot and killed by police, according to The Washington Post's Fatal Force database. Last year, police shot and killed 963 people.

The Facebook user who posted the video did not respond to an interview request sent by Facebook Sunday.

The Campbell Police Department said in a statement it was aware of the video circulating online, as well as the thousands of comments surrounding it. Police also cited an officer-involved shooting that had taken place in nearby Los Banos, California, as an example of the "unfortunate reality" that people sometimes attack police.

"As an agency, we can understand the response to the Facebook video, and that is why we have and will continue engaging our community," police said. "The comments on the Facebook video bring up a lot of different viewpoints about how the officer could have responded differently or used different tactics. Our officers receive a tremendous amount of training on a consistent basis and that training is what dictates our response. This is intended to protect our officers as well as those they come in contact with."

Police said they had reviewed footage from the officer's body cam, which included the beginning and end of the incident not shown in the Facebook video. The department did not release any footage from the officer's camera and did not immediately respond to an email Sunday.

"We are thankful that this incident resolved itself with no one getting injured and hope that this additional information provides clarification," police said.

Andrea

08-15-2017, 06:00 PM

Deputies Go Unpunished for Invasive Cavity Search on Houston Roadside

https://www.texasobserver.org/cops-go-free-warrantless-body-cavity-search-houston-roadside/amp/ (https://www.texasobserver.org/cops-go-free-warrantless-body-cavity-search-houston-roadside/amp/)

The courts have long ruled that warrantless body cavity searches are, in most circumstances, unconstitutional. Impromptu roadside anal and vaginal probes are prohibited by both state law and policies adopted by many of the state’s largest law enforcement agencies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean cops who engage in warrantless roadside cavity searches will always face consequences. This month, Harris County prosecutors dropped criminal charges against two Harris County sheriff’s deputies accused of helping vaginally probe Charnesia Corley after they smelled weed during a June 2015 traffic stop in north Houston. The sheriff’s office has already cleared both deputies of any wrongdoing, and both are expected to stay with the department. One of them could even soon return to patrol duty.

That’s what prompted the attorney handling Corley’s federal lawsuit against the county to release dash-cam footage on Monday that he says proves she was subjected to an illegal search. The video, first published by the Houston Chronicle, appears to show the deputies forcing Corley face-first on the pavement near her car before spreading her legs and shining a flashlight around her genitals.

Corley’s attorney, Sam Cammack, also called for officials to appoint a special prosecutor to pursue charges against the deputies. In a phone call with the Observer this past weekend, ahead of the video’s release, Cammack called the footage “undeniable proof this woman was violated.”

The deputies’ attorneys have claimed they “never penetrated” Corley during the stop, something that the dash-cam footage released Monday doesn’t seem to prove or disprove. In a response filed in the federal lawsuit, Harris County attorneys deny the deputies ever conducted a body cavity search, but rather forced Corley to the ground during a “visual strip search.” Natasha Sinclair, chief of the DA’s civil rights division, which investigates allegations against police officers, told the Observer that while grand jurors didn’t think the deputies committed any crime, “We don’t condone this type of search at all. This is by no means us saying this is an appropriate way to conduct a search.”

The courts have long ruled that the kind of warrantless search Corley says she endured is only justified when police can show that waiting for a judge’s approval would have resulted in “imminent loss or destruction of evidence,” which the county hasn’t even argued in Corley’s case.

However, roadside probes like Corley’s have surfaced in state and federal courts across Texas in recent years. In 2014, a North Texas state trooper pleaded guilty to two counts of official oppression after sticking her hand inside the pants of two women on the side of the George Bush Turnpike while searching for drugs. Even after DPS updated its policy to ban warrantless roadside cavity searches, drivers still complained of deputies probing them during traffic stops. In 2015, state lawmakers passed a new law requiring cops to obtain search warrants before conducting roadside body cavity searches.

That law, which went into effect three months after deputies strip-searched Corley in a Texaco parking lot, carries no criminal penalties for law enforcement officers who violate it.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, Sinclair wouldn’t explain why her office dropped charges against the deputies in Corley’s case earlier this month, other than to say her office had discovered new evidence they presented to another grand jury, which on August 4 cleared the deputies of any wrongdoing. “I’m prohibited from commenting on exactly what that content was,” she told the Observer.

Cammack meanwhile bristles that the deputies, who were both cleared of wrongdoing by an internal sheriff’s office investigation, will likely remain with the department. In a statement published by the Chronicle on Monday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said, “I understand and respect the community’s concerns” regarding Corley’s treatment. Gonzalez said both deputies are expected to remain with the department. One of them, he said, “will be allowed to return to patrol duties.”

Cammack says that’s an unacceptable outcome. “This woman was half-naked, handcuffed and face-down on the ground when they penetrated her,” he said. “That deserves some kind of accountability.”

Andrea

08-15-2017, 09:06 PM

California prison psychologist alleges guards locked her in with a convicted rapist

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article167322442.html (http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article167322442.html)

A California prison psychologist has filed a lawsuit against the state alleging she was threatened and demoted after she reported mistreatment of gay and transgender inmates at a correctional facility in Vacaville.

On two occasions, psychologist Lori Jespersen alleges, a correctional officer locked her in a confinement area with dangerous criminals after she filed complaints on behalf of transgender inmates at the California Medical Facility.

“The shocking nature of (the corrections department’s) retaliation against Dr. Jespersen – trapping her in units with notoriously dangerous prisoners, soliciting prisoners to harm her, and more” compelled her to take a one-month leave from her job in 2016, the lawsuit says.

Jespersen, 41, has worked for the corrections department since 2008 and at the Vacaville prison for the past eight years. She is a married lesbian who claims that the prison subjected her to a hostile work environment, illegally retaliated against her and violated state whistleblower protection laws by punishing her after she attempted to report misconduct.

Representatives for the corrections department and the federal program that oversees California prison health care declined to comment on the lawsuit because they had not seen it. The lawsuit was filed late Monday at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Jespersen’s attorneys, Felicia Medina and Jennifer Orthwein, said the psychologist wants her lawsuit to compel the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to better protect gay and transgender inmates, who according to studies are more likely to experience unwanted sexual contact in prison than the general population.

Jespersen wants “to fight for members of her community that are being horribly treated and abused at the CMF. For her, this is about seeing people be held accountable,” Orthwein said.

The lawsuit describes a number of incidents in which Jespersen believed prison employees were complicit in the abuse of gay and transgender inmates. It says she attempted to report the incidents to prison officials and to outside state departments but believed her complaints did not receive appropriate attention.

Her allegations include:

▪ A correctional officer failed to lock a shower door in March 2016, which enabled a prisoner to rape a gay inmate.

▪ An officer in June 2016 prevented transgender inmates from attending a therapy group and insulted them. The correctional officer reportedly told the transgender women, “You’re no woman ... your breasts can’t give milk and you will never have a man” and “I don’t agree with your lifestyle and I never will, and this is a men’s prison, you are not ‘she.’ ”

▪ Correctional officers have compelled transgender inmates to strip in the open and denied them privacy screens. Correctional officers also have used derogatory language around transgender inmates.

▪ Three prison employees in July 2014 “outted” a transgender inmate by disclosing personal information about her on Facebook. The prison employees referred to the inmate as “he/she” and “that thing,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit describes two instances in which Jespersen said she feared physical harm after reporting alleged misconduct. In one, she was locked in a housing unit with a convicted rapist after she filed a report of a transgender inmate being mistreated by a correctional officer.

In the other, she was locked in a housing unit with two prisoners a day after she filed a complaint on behalf of a transgender inmate. In both cases, she was “unsupervised, alone and without access to a safety alarm.”

Jespersen also reported that a correctional officer insulted her in a manner that was intended to provoke violence against her by inmates. In one instance, the correctional officer allegedly told inmates, “She needs to be reminded where she’s at.”

Jespersen took a leave of absence in June 2016. When she returned, she was given a desk job where she does not work directly with inmates, the lawsuit says.

Andrea

08-28-2017, 01:22 PM

SOUL SNATCHERS: Countering the State Sponsored Conspiracy to Destroy Pedro Hernandez (Part 3)

https://medium.com/@ShaunKing/soul-snatchers-countering-the-state-sponsored-conspiracy-to-destroy-pedro-hernandez-part-3-1b6307828eb6 (https://medium.com/@ShaunKing/soul-snatchers-countering-the-state-sponsored-conspiracy-to-destroy-pedro-hernandez-part-3-1b6307828eb6)

Have you ever been arrested by the police and charged with a crime you didn’t commit? I don’t mean pulled over for a speeding ticket. I don’t mean harassed or ridiculed. I don’t mean treated like a suspect.

(Read Part 1 of Soul Snatchers HERE & Part 2 HERE.)

I’m asking, have you ever been arrested by the police, then charged by a prosecutor, then sent to jail to await trial, for a crime you absolutely did not commit? Do you know anyone personally who this has happened to? I don’t mean have you heard of a person who was falsely arrested and charged, then later exonerated, but do you know someone?

Before he even had a chance to graduate high school, standout student Pedro Hernandez, a good kid from The Bronx, had his entire life flash before his eyes with such false arrests and charges — not once, or twice, which would be absolutely outrageous, but seven different times.

This series is called “Soul Snatchers” for a reason. When another Bronx teenager, Kalief Browder, was arrested and charged for a crime he did not commit, and then left to rot in jail on Rikers Island for three years without ever being found guilty of a crime, he was routinely beaten and humiliated in the worst possible ways. When the charges were eventually dismissed, and he was simply let out without as much as an apology, his injured body was functioning, but his soul had been ripped out and damaged beyond repair. Kalief’s family surrounded him with love and support. Jay Z and Rosie O’Donnell did the same. The three years in Rikers, though, had damaged Kalief in ways that were mostly invisible to us, but painfully real to him.

Earlier this week I sat and had breakfast with Pedro Hernandez and his family. Fighting back tears, his mother Jessica told me that all of the false arrests, all of the fake charges, and all of the times in and out of jail — where he, too, was brutally beaten and abused — has left her son a hollow shell of his former self. He’s sometimes jumpy and nervous. He won’t leave the house — afraid that it may all happen again. She can hardly get him to leave his room. The smell of certain foods reminds of him of Rikers and he simply can’t eat.

Two straight years of hell on earth haven’t simply hardened him — they appear to have changed his very nature. He’s still Pedro. He still responds when you call his name. He still remembers wonderful memories and moments from his childhood, but he’s just not the same. And how could he be?

What I am about to tell you is the story of criminal conspiracy by the NYPD, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, and the City of New York to destroy Pedro Hernandez. After Kalief died, in photo op after photo op and press conference after press conference, elected officials and city leaders pledged that what happened to Kalief would never happen to another child in this city again. They lied. It’s happening to kids all over New York City — particularly in The Bronx — and it’s happening to Pedro Hernandez right now. He’s on life’s edge and his future continues to hang in the balance.

“I knew we were in trouble when Detective David Terrell of the 42nd Precinct got my cell phone number off of a report from my oldest son and started calling me at home,” said Jessica Perez, mother of Pedro Hernandez. “That was all the way back in 2011. He wouldn’t even pretend to talk about police matters. It started with him literally having the nerve to ask me if I would cook Spanish food for him then it got worse from there. That was in October. I changed my number a few months later because he just wouldn’t let up.”

This is a common refrain heard from families who were targeted by Terrell. At least five different women have now gone on the record to say that he sexually harassed them and offered to stop targeting their kids if they’d give in and have sex with him.

When I first heard Pedro’s story — that he was an innocent kid locked up at Rikers — being framed by police and prosecutors — I wanted to believe it, but I just couldn’t afford to take his friends and family at their word. The allegations were so outrageous, and so damning, that if true, only a criminal conspiracy of historic proportions could explain such a thing.

On December 15th, 2014, the NYPD, in concert with the Bronx DA’s office, began a full on assault against 15-year-old Pedro Hernandez. He was a sweet kid in a rough neighborhood, and had never been arrested before. He never should’ve been arrested.

Standing on a corner near 168th Street in the Bronx, Pedro was talking to his brother’s friends, who were sitting inside of a double-parked car. When police from the 42nd Precinct pulled up in an unmarked car, they got out and asked Pedro to do something he had never heard before. “Get in the car,” the officer demanded to Pedro, speaking of the car his brother’s friends were in. On TV, he had heard police officers yell for people to “get out of the car,” but he had never heard them demand that someone get into someone else’s car. Pedro then told the officer that he lived close by and didn’t need a ride. The officer repeated his order, “I need you to get in the car.” So Pedro complied. This simple moment was a turning point in Pedro’s life.

At almost the very instant the driver of the car shifted it into drive and moved it forward less than 30 inches, police turned their flashing lights on and ordered the car to stop. They had asked Pedro to get into the back seat for a reason — they could not arrest him, as they planned to do with everyone in the car on that evening, if he was just outside of it talking to them. They needed Pedro to be inside of it. Police in The Bronx are full of tricks like this.

Claiming that they thought they smelled the faint hint of marijuana, police now ordered Pedro and the other guys out of the vehicle and handcuffed them all, rounded them up, and took them to the 42nd Precinct, without informing any of them why they were being arrested.

Without an attorney or his mother present, Sgt. Barnett asked Pedro, “Why are all of the passengers saying the gun we found in the car was yours?” Pedro had no idea what he was stepping into at the time, but the question from Sgt. Barnett was NYPD 101. Of course, none of the passengers said any gun in the car belonged to Pedro, but perhaps Pedro would name someone else if he thought they had named him. “I was never even in the vehicle until the police told me I had to get in it. I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Life would never be the same for Pedro Hernandez again. That next morning, from the 42nd Precinct, he was taken to Horizon Juvenile Center. A few hours later he was taken to Family Court. A few hours later he was taken to another temporary detention center. Yet a few more hours later he was taken to New Bridge Non-Secure Detention Center. It’s not what you think. It’s a house in a neighborhood in the middle of The Bronx except it has officers who guard it and the house has bars on the windows. The 16 days Pedro stayed at New Bridge were the beginning of the end of his childhood.

On January 5th, 2015, something horrible happened to Pedro at this facility. At 12:15AM, with no provocation, Officer Gregory Hyman forced Pedro out of bed, shoved him out of his room, and into an empty room in the house and began brutally beating him. One punch from Hyman to Pedro’s face was so forceful that it caused Pedro to hit his head on a scorching hot radiator, also injuring his hands and neck as well. Not once did Pedro return force, but Hyman continued the brutal beating. When another child in the facility saw and heard the beating, he attempted to barge in to save Pedro, but other officers blocked the door. The child continued to try to get in there to stop it, but couldn’t, as Pedro screamed for help. Hyman then proceeded to choke Pedro.

Here’s the video, released in full for the first time. It’s painful to watch.

The Director of New Bridge, who was not in the house at the time of the incident, but saw it on camera, immediately fired Gregory Hyman for the assault, notified police and Pedro’s mother, and immediately had Pedro transferred out of her facility. Over the next 24 hours, Pedro was then bounced back to Horizon Detention Center, then Family Court, then Bronx Hope School, then New View Detention Center — where he was denied proper medical care at each place, before finally being transferred to Lutheran Detention Center.

But here’s what’s wild. The Bronx DA’s Office had the video of Pedro being brutally assaulted for 20 months and did nothing about it until private investigator Manuel Gomez obtained the video and sent it to local reporter James Ford, of New York television station, Pix 11. A full 20 months after a grown man assaulted a child in the dark of the night, Gregory Hyman was finally arrested and charged with with assault, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal obstruction of breathing and blood circulation, and harassment.

From this point forward, having already trapped Pedro inside of the criminal justice system, the NYPD and the Bronx DA’s Office began a series of flagrant, illegal arrests of Pedro Hernandez — threatening and forcing false witnesses with prosecution and even violence if they did not identify Pedro in crimes he absolutely did not commit.

What follows is the detailed history of those false arrests and the evidence, including affidavits and videos from witnesses who openly state that Detective David Terrell, Detective Daniel Brady, and Assistant District Attorney David Slott wantonly and flagrantly demanded that they identify Pedro in crimes he didn’t commit — or suffer severe consequences. It’s a lot of information that took me over a month to sort through and understand. Here, I’ll try to do it as clearly and methodically as I can.

On July 12th, 2015, a 15 year old boy named Tyrese Revels was shot in the calf. Pedro didn’t shoot him. Pedro didn’t even know Tyrese Revels and Tyrese Revels did not know Pedro. Consequently, not a single shred of physical evidence existed showing that Pedro had anything at all to do with this shooting. Nothing. It didn’t matter. And you will soon see — evidence, truth, lies, guilt, innocence — none of it matters to the detectives in the 42nd Precinct or the prosecutors in the Bronx DA’s office. They are just out to get arrests and convictions and are fully willing to railroad anyone to get them. I’m sure that sounds harsh, but evidence will prove that is the case.

Remember, Tyrese Revels is not only a kid, but he’s a kid who has been shot. With no concern for his well-being, Detectives Terrell and Brady, alongside Assistant District Attorney David Slott, begin demanding that Tyrese identify Pedro as his shooter.

Here’s Tyrese, the shooting victim, in his own words, on being pressured to falsely identify Pedro:

In another interview, Tyrese Revels details how Detective David Terrell threatened him with physical violence if he didn’t lie and say he saw Pedro shoot him.

Even though police knew full well where 15-year-old Pedro Hernandez lived, they released his photo to every single news station in the city as their lead suspect in the shooting of Tyrese Revels. The photo came from Pedro’s Facebook page. Sure enough, the news media ran with it. On July 13th, 2015 New York’s News 12 showed Pedro’s photo as an important suspect in a shooting. From morning until night they showed his image with a message that the NYPD needed help locating him. He was literally sitting at home the whole time. That’s the web version of it above.

Pedro’s mother, Jessica, seeing this on the web and on the news, then called the 42nd Precinct to inform them that she would be bringing Pedro in for questioning the next day. When Jessica brought him in, instead of simply questioning him, the police arrested Pedro right there on the spot and charged him with the crimes of attempted murder in the second degree; assault in the first degree; criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; assault in the second degree; reckless endangerment in the first degree; assault in the third degree; reckless endangerment in the second degree; criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and harassment in the second degree. They didn’t bother taking it before a grand jury. It would’ve never held up — they had no evidence.

Now, I just need us to stop right there. Let’s not get too deep. I just need you to imagine what it would feel like if you got arrested and charged with 9 crimes, most of them serious felonies — including attempted murder — when you didn’t commit a single one of them. Imagine what that would do to you emotionally, physically, and financially. Imagine what it would do to your family. Now imagine it happening to you when you were 15. Now imagine it happening to you when you were 15 and you had already been brutally beaten by a guard while locked up previously. Because that’s exactly where Pedro and his family were emotionally. To them, this wasn’t a news story, or a headline, or a trending topic, their entire lives were turned upside down. They wondered if Pedro might end up getting sent to prison for decades for some foolishness that he didn’t even know anything about.

First the police sent Pedro to central booking. Next, they sent him over to Horizon Juvenile Center for six days, before he was finally released on his own recognizance, but the charges remained.

From his release in July until February of 2016, Pedro and his family attended five different court hearings on the attempted murder charge — wondering each time if police might lock him back up. Then, without even a small explanation or apology, all charges were simply dropped against Pedro on February 29th, 2016.

Andrea: Click the link for the videos and the rest of the article.

Andrea

08-31-2017, 01:06 PM

King County deputy on leave after pulling gun during traffic stop

http://www.king5.com/news/local/deputy-on-leave-after-pulling-gun-during-traffic-stop/468786232 (http://www.king5.com/news/local/deputy-on-leave-after-pulling-gun-during-traffic-stop/468786232)

A King County Sheriff’s deputy will be placed on administrative leave Tuesday after a video surfaced that shows the deputy confronting a motorcyclist with a gun during a traffic stop.

King County Sheriff John Urquhart said he didn’t want the deputy on the streets until the incident was investigated.

Based on the footage he saw Monday afternoon, Urquhart said he found the video to be upsetting and the deputy’s use of force likely violates department policy.

Alex Randall recorded the video while riding his motorcycle on August 16.

“This video shows the boldness of the King County Sheriffs Deputies and lack of fear of repercussions in threatening and intimidating an unarmed citizen with excessive use of force,” Randall wrote on YouTube.

The footage shows Randall pulling up to a stop light. The deputy walks up to the left side of the motorcycle with a gun pulled close to his chest pointed at Randall. He does not show a badge or identify himself.

“What are you doing to me?” Randall said.

“What do you mean what am I doing?” the deputy said. “You’re f****** driving reckless. Give me your driver’s license or I’m going to knock you off this bike.”

“I will pull over. I am unarmed,” Randall said.

After a brief exchange, the deputy reached into Randall’s front pants pocket and took out Randall’s wallet to get his ID.

“I’m sorry. You have a gun drawn on me, so I’m a little panicked,” Randall said.

“You’re right, because I’m the police,” the deputy said. “That’s right. When you’re driving and you’re going to place people at risk at 100 miles an hour plus on the God dang roadway.”

After looking at Randall’s ID, the deputy put his gun away. He identified himself as with the King County Sheriff’s Office and told Randall he could be arrested for reckless driving.

In a post at the end of the YouTube video, Randall claimed he was not traveling 100 miles per hour, writing that the deputy’s comment was “a fabrication and an exaggeration.”

Sheriff Urquhart posted the following statement on Facebook Monday night:

Late Monday afternoon I was sent a video of a traffic stop of a motorcyclist by a King County Sheriff's detective. With the caveat that I have not yet heard the other side of the story, I was deeply disturbed with the conduct and tactics that were recorded.

I have ordered the detective be placed on administrative leave as of Tuesday morning pending a full investigation of the facts.

In every encounter I expect my deputies to treat others with respect. Our manual requires that firearms not be drawn and pointed unless the deputy believes their use may be required. Generally that means the deputy believes the safety of him or herself is in jeopardy, or a member of the public. Drawing your weapon on someone when investigating a misdemeanor traffic offense is not routine. All of these issues will be covered in a full investigation. In the meantime, the detective involved will not be working with the public.

Andrea

09-01-2017, 06:15 AM

Video shows Utah nurse screaming, being dragged into police car after refusing to let officer take blood from unconscious victim

http://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/08/31/utah-nurse-arrested-after-complying-with-hospital-policy-that-bars-taking-blood-from-unconscious-victim/ (http://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/08/31/utah-nurse-arrested-after-complying-with-hospital-policy-that-bars-taking-blood-from-unconscious-victim/)

A nurse alleges she was assaulted and illegally arrested by a Salt Lake City police detective for following a hospital policy that does not allow blood draws from unconscious patients.

Footage from University Hospital and officer body cameras shows Detective Jeff Payne insisting to nurse Alex Wubbels that he be allowed to get a blood sample from a patient in the burn unit who had been injured in a July 26 collision in northern Utah that left another driver dead.

Wubbels responded that blood cannot be taken from an unconscious patient unless the patient is under arrest, there is a warrant allowing the draw or the patient consents. The detective acknowledges that none of those requirements is in place but insists he has the authority to obtain the draw, according to the footage.

At one point, Payne says, “She’s going to jail,” if he doesn’t get the sample.

After Wubbels consults with several hospital officials and repeats the policy, Payne tells her she is under arrest and grabs her, pulling her arms behind her back and handcuffing her. The footage shows the detective dragging her out of the hospital and putting her inside a patrol car as she screams.

Parts of the footage were shown Thursday at a news conference at the office of Karra Porter, a Salt Lake City attorney representing Wubbels.

Salt Lake police Sgt. Brandon Shearer said the department started an internal investigation, which is ongoing, in response to the incident.

Payne was temporarily suspended from the department’s blood-draw program — where officers are trained as phlebotomists so they can get blood samples — but remains on duty, Shearer said. The department also has held training for the officers in the program, he said.

Andrea: Click link for video and rest of article

Andrea

09-05-2017, 06:47 AM

Ohio news photographer reportedly shot by deputy while setting up to take pictures of traffic stop

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/05/ohio-news-photographer-reportedly-shot-by-deputy-while-setting-up-to-take-pictures-traffic-stop.html (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/05/ohio-news-photographer-reportedly-shot-by-deputy-while-setting-up-to-take-pictures-traffic-stop.html)

A small Ohio news organization said one of its photographers was shot by a sheriff's deputy Monday night while he set up to take pictures of a random traffic stop.

Andy Grimm "had his camera in his hand" when he was shot in his side by a Clark County sheriff's deputy in New Carlisle, which north of Dayton, The New Carlisle News said in a Facebook post.

He was rushed to Miami Valley Hospital for surgery and is expected to recover.

Grimm had left the newsroom around 10 p.m. on Monday to take pictures of a lightning storm, the paper said. While he was taking pictures, a traffic stop occurred on the same road, according to the article.

"I was going out to take pictures and I saw the traffic stop and I thought, 'Hey, cool. I'll get some pictures here.'" he told the newspaper. He said he pulled into a parking lot in full view of the deputy, got out of his Jeep and started setting up his tripod and camera. "I turned around toward the cars and then 'pop, pop."

The newspaper speculated that the deputy may have mistaken the camera for a weapon. Grimm said the deputy, identified in reports as Jake Shaw, gave him no warning.

"I was just doing my job," he said. "I know Jake. I like Jake. I don't want him to lose his job over this."

Sources told the newspaper that there was “some confusion” surrounding the shooting.

“I just talked to Andy and he said that he is very sore, but in good spirits,” Dale Grimm, the photographer's father and publisher of the New Carlisle News, told Fox News. “He said the hospital expects to be releasing him Tuesday. He also stressed that he does not want the deputy to lose his job over this.”

The Dayton Daily News reports the case has been turned over to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

“This is a small town. Everybody knows everybody. It was just a terrible misunderstanding,” his father said.

Kätzchen

09-05-2017, 09:00 AM

Thanks always, Andrea, for these timely updates. And thanks for posting about the coverage by Shaun King, concerning Soul Snatchers. It's horrifying, what the abuse of power can do to another human being, but I'm glad that King is willing to risk his life and career and the safety of his family by blowing the whistle. :rrose:

*Anya*

09-06-2017, 07:04 PM

Teen girl files claim against police who mistook her for a male suspect and punched her

By Amy B Wang September 5 at 5:10 PM

Nearly three months later, Tatyana Hargrove still can’t talk about what happened to her on June 18 without tearing up.

It had been a sweltering Sunday when, on a bike ride back from shopping for a Father’s Day gift, Hargrove was suddenly stopped by police officers in Bakersfield, Calif.

The officers had been looking for a suspect — described as a 25- to 30-year-old, bald, black man standing 5 feet 10 and weighing about 170 pounds — who had threatened several people with a machete at a nearby grocery store, according to a police report.

Thinking she was that man — and despite her protests — the officers seized on the 5-foot-2, 115-pound Hargrove, in an altercation that escalated until police punched her in the mouth, unleashed a K-9 dog on her and arrested her. It wasn’t until officers placed her in their patrol car that they asked Hargrove’s name and realized she was female — and thus not the suspect they were looking for.

Though police later admitted it was a case of mistaken identity, Hargrove was charged with resisting or delaying an officer and aggravated assault on an officer. It wasn’t until August that those charges against her were dropped, her attorney said.

“It changed me. Very bad,” Hargrove, 19, said last week at a news conference. “My friends tell me I’m different.”

That’s about as far as she was able to get before breaking down crying.

“I hope and I pray this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” she said through tears.

Frustrated with what they say has been a lack of accountability for the officers’ actions, Hargrove is filing a claim against the city of Bakersfield. A precursor to a lawsuit, the claim will almost certainly lead to legal action against the city.

Neil K. Gehlawat, Hargrove’s attorney, said this option was the only way they felt they could bring justice in this case. Only the district attorney’s office or a U.S. attorney’s office has the ability to punish the officers, he added, but there was “virtually zero percent chance” they would.

“Our job is to hold the officers accountable for what happened and all the law allows us to do is to seek money,” Gehlawat said. “But our hope is that, by going through this process and by potentially having this case heard by a jury, that they will send a loud and clear message to the officers in the department that what happened is not appropriate and it should not happen again.”

Bakersfield police spokesman Ryan Kroeker said the department is aware a claim was filed and had been expecting it, but did not comment further. In July, a police spokesman told The Washington Post the department had determined the officers had exercised appropriate use of force on Hargrove.

Gehlawat said the Bakersfield police chief did call Hargrove and her parents to apologize for what happened, but also suggested Hargrove should have complied before complaining.

“Which I think is just victim-blaming,” Gehlawat said.

In a widely shared video of Hargrove’s account of the incident, filmed by the Bakersfield chapter of the NAACP in July, the teenager stands with a pair of crutches near the intersection where she was stopped by police and described how one of the officers demanded she give him her backpack, she said.

When she asked if they had a warrant, one of the officers gestured toward a police K-9 behind him, she said.

“I then got scared and then I was like, here, take the backpack, just take the backpack,” Hargrove added.

After that, she said in the video, the officer grabbed her by her wrist, then punched her and threw her onto the ground; shortly afterward, the police K-9 “came and started eating at my leg.”

The same officer then put his knee on her back and other knee against her head, despite her protests, she said.

“I told him ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe’ and then I started yelling out, ‘Somebody help me, somebody help me! They’re gonna kill me!’” she said. “And then finally, he let me up, he tied my hands behind my back and then he tied my feet together and he threw me in the back of the car.”

Hargrove was arrested and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of her injuries, including abrasions on her face and scrapes and punctures from the police K-9’s “engagement on her right thigh,” Christopher Moore, the arresting officer, wrote in his police report.

Moore wrote that “several nurses” at the hospital referred to Hargrove as a male and that “when I corrected them and advised she was a female they were surprised and apologized for the mistake.”

After she was treated for her injuries, Hargrove was booked into jail, the report said. She was detained for nearly 16 hours there before being bailed out by her parents, according to the NAACP.

In the police report, Moore wrote that Hargrove had “spun into” one of the officers with her left shoulder, causing him to fall backward, and then “quickly maneuvered her body to get back on top of him” after the officer punched her.

“At this time I was forced to quickly consider the following; [Hargrove] matched the description of the suspect that had brandished a machete, her backpack was within her arm’s reach and the main compartment was unzipped allowing her immediate access to the machete,” Moore wrote. After weighing whether he could use his Taser or baton on Hargrove, Moore wrote that he decided to unleash the police K-9, Hamer.

In the police report, Moore wrote that after officers placed Hargrove in a police car, she continued to scream out of the window at them for about five minutes.

“While Hargrove was in the back seat I asked what her name was and when she provided it as ‘Tatyana’ I said, ‘Don’t lie to me, that’s a girl’s name. What is your name?’ ” the police report stated. “Hargrove said, ‘I’m a girl, I just don’t dress like one.’ This was when I first discovered she was a female.”

A search of her backpack revealed no weapons, the report stated.

The claim against Bakersfield alleges police used “excessive and unreasonable force” against Hargrove, as well as civil rights violations under federal and state law.

“One of the questions in my mind is, even if this case is a case of mistaken identity, why didn’t they do more to ascertain her identity prior to using excessive force?” Gehlawat said.

He described the impossible situation Hargrove had been put in to reporters last week: “She tried to get the dog off of her. The officers described that as her not being compliant, but I bet that if any one of us had a canine biting onto some part of our body, our natural instinct might be to try to get the dog off of us so that the dog wouldn’t keep biting us.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/09/05/teen-girl-files-claim-against-police-who-mistook-her-for-a-black-male-suspect-and-punched-her/?utm_term=.9181edad4058

Andrea

09-14-2017, 11:01 AM

Man Claims Citrus Heights Police Used Excessive Force During His Arrest

http://fox40.com/2017/09/13/man-claims-citrus-heights-police-used-excessive-force-during-his-arrest/ (http://fox40.com/2017/09/13/man-claims-citrus-heights-police-used-excessive-force-during-his-arrest/)

CITRUS HEIGHTS -- The fence is still locked in front of the boarded up, three-story house where an electrical fire burned everything back in June.

"All's I can remember yelling is this is my mom's house, this is my mom's house," said Dryw Westerman.

Westerman's childhood home in Citrus Heights was burning.

"I'm just trying to figure out where my daughter is, where my mom is," he said.

But instead, the 34-year-old father, who has no criminal history, ended up going to jail.

Westerman says police used too much force that day.

"The subject refused, and again tried to drive forward, causing one of our officers to have to get out of the path of the vehicle he was driving," said Sgt. Richard Wheaten with the Citrus Heights Police Department said.

Police say Westerman was trying to drive through police tape at the scene, something they admit people attempt regularly when emotions are heightened because they are worried about their family members.

"It is rare for people to go this far to not follow directions when we're trying to help get them to their family and help keep them safe at the same time," Wheaten said.

Westerman was charged with resisting arrest and being an unauthorized person in an area closed for safety.

"Wasn't blocked off at all, I had plenty of room to go down there," he said.

Westerman says he was trying to turn down a side street that wasn't blocked off and that he explained that to officers. But he says they opened the door to his car and twisted his arm out of the window.

"Pressed me against the steering wheel," Westerman said.

And then he says they tackled him to the ground while he was wearing shorts, burning his knees on the hot asphalt.

It's something he's seen happen in Citrus Heights before with James Nelson about a mile and a half away and within days of his arrest in June.

"I'm grateful that didn't happen to me, but it could have been me," Westerman said.

Westerman says the burns on his knees are much less severe, but he also got abrasions on his wrists from the handcuffs.

"His injuries are not consistent with a burn or anything like that," Wheaten said.

The police department says he was brought up from the asphalt rather quickly and that Westerman's story is not entirely accurate.

"I wasn't raised like that," Westerman said.

Right now, he's raising his 4-year-old son, Michael.

"He teaches me everything," Michael said.

When Michael grows up, he wants to be a cop.

Andrea

09-20-2017, 11:12 AM

Andrea

09-20-2017, 11:15 AM

As arrests are made, protesters question the tactics used by St. Louis police

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/as-arrests-are-made-protesters-question-the-tactics-used-by/article_e58481b7-f7c2-541e-91d2-31a6379f272c.amp.html (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/as-arrests-are-made-protesters-question-the-tactics-used-by/article_e58481b7-f7c2-541e-91d2-31a6379f272c.amp.html)

ST. LOUIS • Police used a technique called kettling on Sunday night to box in about 100 people at a busy downtown intersection and arrest them for failing to disperse.

It’s a tactic used to corral a group of people who fail to follow police orders. St. Louis police took the action after several windows were broken and concrete planters and trash cans overturned.

But some of those caught in the box made by rows of officers said police overstepped their bounds, using excessive force and chemical spray on people who were not protesting, including residents trying to get home and members of the media. As police closed in from all sides, they struck their batons in unison on the pavement, in a cadence march.

Tony Rice, an activist who goes by Search4Swag on Twitter, said he was shocked by the police behavior.

“It was the most brutal arrest I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Rice said. “I thought I was going to die.”

He said he could not lie prone on the ground, as ordered, because he had his bike with him.

Rice said his neck was being pressed against part of his bike, and he told the officers: “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.”

Those bused to the jail seemed confused by what was happening, Rice said. Pedestrians were arrested along with legal observers, protesters, a freelance photographer and a doctor, he said.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk was caught in the kettle Sunday night. A line of bike cops formed across Washington Avenue, east of Tucker Boulevard and police in helmets carrying shields and batons blocked the other three sides of the intersection at Tucker and Washington. Faulk heard the repeated police command, “Move back. Move back.” He had nowhere to go.

The police lines moved forward, trapping dozens of people — protesters, journalists, area residents and observers alike. Multiple officers knocked Faulk down, he said, and pinned his limbs to the ground. A firm foot pushed his head into the pavement. Once he was subdued, he recalled, an officer squirted pepper spray in his face.

Police loaded Faulk into a van holding about eight others and took him to the city jail on Tucker, a few blocks to the south. He arrived about midnight and was released about 1:30 p.m. Monday after posting a $50 bond. Faulk was charged with failure to disperse, a municipal charge.

Nigel Jernigan, 27, a cook from Jennings, said he came downtown around 9 p.m. Sunday to join others protesting the not-guilty verdict in the case of former St. Louis police Officer Jason Stockley, accused of murdering Anthony Lamar Smith.

In doing so, he got caught up in the sweep by police. He said he saw officers hit and roughhouse people around him on the ground who wouldn’t put their hands behind their backs.

“Most of the people who didn’t have their hands behind their backs were making sure they weren’t pepper sprayed in the face,” he said.

Jernigan said he put his face to the concrete. He said he heard police chant and yell even though the majority of the protesters were already terrified from being cornered and not allowed to leave.

Dellicia Jones, 23, said she and her boyfriend were also caught up in the sweep. She said she hadn’t participated in any of the earlier protests but wanted to see what was happening Sunday night.

She and her boyfriend parked on Washington Avenue and joined other people who were mostly standing around and talking, Jones said. After about 30 minutes, police began advancing while banging their batons on the ground in unison.

She and her boyfriend were quickly boxed in. “When we tried to walk one way, they came at us with pepper spray and batons and told us to go the other way,” Jones said, but they had nowhere to turn.

Jones said she wasn’t treated roughly by the officers who arrested her but she saw others who were hit with pepper spray and some who were slammed to the ground.

She thinks police were too harsh in how they swept in on the protesters.

“It was nowhere near right, at all,” Jones said a few hours after she was released from the City Justice Center. She had spent about 15 hours there and was among the many charged with failure to disperse.

Controversial tactic

Kettling has been used across the country as well as in Europe to defuse violent situations, which is how police described their Sunday night actions. After several hours of peaceful protests, which started at police headquarters west of downtown, the group of about 1,000 people moved to the St. Louis University campus and then back to the police station. Then a group peeled off and headed downtown, where several windows of businesses were broken, and concrete planters and trash cans overturned. Police warned protesters several times to disperse, saying it was no longer a peaceful assembly.

People run up Olive Street in St. Louis as some windows are broken and bicycle police begin arriving in the area on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Tony Rothert, legal director of the American Civil Liberties of Missouri, said his office has been busy fielding complaints and been in contact with Mayor Lyda Krewson’s office as well as Acting Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole regarding what Rothert called inappropriate police behavior.

“We’re exploring whether litigation will be necessary to bring police in line with the Constitution,” Rothert said.

He said examples of questionable behavior by police include use of chemical sprays and ordering people to stop recording officers and to delete images they had already taken.

“And then engaging in kettling, which caused people who were doing nothing wrong to be detained and arrested along with those who were breaking the law,” Rothert said. “It has been used infamously and does very often bring in journalists, legal observers and innocent bystanders. It was used at the presidential inauguration (in January) in D.C., and in New York during Occupy Wall Street. It’s really a military tactic for controlling crowds and controversial because it leads to constitutional violations.”

Rothert said he is unaware of it ever being used in St. Louis before Sunday night “and I don’t recall it ever happening during Ferguson or any of the other protests of police shootings.”

The St. Louis Police Department said the design of the area downtown St. Louis prompted their actions Sunday night.

“The geographical layout of the area, and not a technique, dictated how tactics were deployed,” a police spokesman said in a statement Monday.

Police said anyone who wants to make a complaint about officer misconduct can contact the Internal Affairs Division at slmpd.org, 314-444-5652 or in person at Police Headquarters, 1915 Olive Boulevard.
Used in Portland

In November 2014, when it was announced that a grand jury would not indict former Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, protests broke out across the country, including in Portland, Ore., where kettling was used to control a crowd of about 100 demonstrators. Ten people were arrested for disorderly conduct or interfering with police, but prosecutors dismissed the cases.

A citizen review board determined that orders by police brass to have officers corral and arrest the group of protesters was unlawful. The board investigated after about 40 complaints were made to the city’s Independent Police Review Division, a part of the city auditor’s office.

Constantin Severe, director of the Independent Police Review, said those who complained said there was a “lack of articulation” by officers as to what the demonstrators were doing wrong. And without that component, police were wrong in kettling the group, which makes it impossible for anyone boxed in by police officers to leave, he said.

Severe said that after the findings, the Portland Police Department vowed to use the kettling procedure rarely, and stopped for nearly two years. They resumed the practice after Donald Trump was elected president, which launched several protests in Portland including one in June where kettling was used again.

“Those on the protest side say (kettling) is killing our First Amendment rights,” Severe said.

Police say it’s an effective way to defuse a volatile situation without resorting to violence. Portland is reviewing police policy on crowd containment, he said.

David Klinger, a criminal justice professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said that kettling serves a lawful purpose when crowds disobey police orders to leave an area. Those who have done nothing wrong should not pick that particular time to try to wage a debate with officers.

“If you are in a crowd and next to a guy that is breaking the law and police say it’s an unlawful assembly, you are going to get scooped up if you don’t leave,” said Klinger, a former Los Angeles police officer.

He said many of those protesting have done so before and know that in a volatile situation, ignoring failures to disperse typically leads to arrest.

“This is no time to play the victim game,” Klinger said. “It’s time to leave.”

Andrea

09-21-2017, 04:06 PM

Man Holding Stick Shot Dead By Oklahoma City Cop

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/police-shooting-oklahoma-city_us_59c23f23e4b0f22c4a8dce68 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/police-shooting-oklahoma-city_us_59c23f23e4b0f22c4a8dce68)

An Oklahoma City police officer shot and killed a man holding a stick on Tuesday, according to authorities. The shooting is under investigation.

The slain man had been a suspect in a hit-and-run that occurred on Tuesday evening, Capt. Bo Mathews, a police spokesman, told reporters.

At least two officers confronted the man, who was holding a stick, in the front yard of a home. One officer fired a Taser stun gun at the man, Mathews said, and the other shot the man with a gun.

The dead man, whose identity wasn’t released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The identities of the two officers have not been released.

During a press conference ― footage of which was shared online by KOCO 5 News ― a reporter noted the slain man had been identified by several locals as deaf. Mathews said that he had no such information, and stressed that the investigation was in a “preliminary” phase.

The officer who shot the man, Mathews added, had been placed on paid administrative leave.

The Latest: Neighbor says man shot by cop didn’t speak

https://apnews.com/fc652ca4660848c3a6c6b4733ff74ada (https://apnews.com/fc652ca4660848c3a6c6b4733ff74ada)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Latest on a man holding a stick who was shot and killed by an Oklahoma City police officer (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

A man who saw Oklahoma City police officers open fire on his deaf neighbor says the neighbor was developmentally disabled and also didn’t speak.

Julio Rayos tells The Oklahoman that 35-year-old Magdiel Sanchez mainly communicated through hand movements. He says he believes Sanchez became frustrated trying to tell the officers what was going on, and that he shouldn’t have been killed.

Two officers investigating a hit-and-run involving Sanchez’s father Tuesday night shot Sanchez with a gun and a Taser after he left his front porch and approached them holding a metal pipe.

Police Capt. Bo Mathews said Wednesday that Sanchez didn’t obey the officers’ commands and that they didn’t hear witnesses yelling at them that Sanchez was deaf.

Sanchez died at the scene. The officer who fired the gun has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

Oklahoma City police officers who opened fire on a man who was approaching them holding a metal pipe didn’t hear witnesses yelling that the man was deaf, a department official said Wednesday. (Sept. 20)

___

10:20 a.m.

Authorities say Oklahoma City officers who opened fire on a man who was approaching them with a metal pipe in his hands apparently didn’t hear witnesses yelling that the man was deaf.

Police Capt. Bo Mathews said Wednesday that 35-year-old Magdiel Sanchez wasn’t obeying the officers’ commands before one shot him with a gun and the other with a Taser on Tuesday night. He says the officers didn’t hear witnesses yelling “he can’t hear you” before they fired.

Sanchez died at the scene. The officer who fired the gun has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Mathews says the officers were investigating a reported hit-and-run. He says a witness told one of the officers the address the vehicle had gone to and that Sanchez was on the porch when the officer arrived. He says Sanchez was holding the metal pipe, which had a leather loop on one end.

A neighbor told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Sanchez carried a stick to ward off stray dogs when he walked at night.

___

10:10 a.m.

A neighbor of a man shot and killed by an Oklahoma City police officer say he was either deaf or hard of hearing and often carried a stick to protect himself from stray dogs.

Police Capt. Bo Mathews says officers were responding to a report of a hit-and-run Tuesday night and said they found a vehicle that matched the description of the one in the crash. He says two officers confronted a man holding a stick near the vehicle.

Mathews says one officer fired a Taser and the other shot with a gun. The man was died at the scene. He has not been named.

Jolie Guebara said Wednesday that she didn’t know her neighbor’s name, but that he used notes to communicate with her and her husband and often carried the stick when he walked at night.

12:50 a.m.

Oklahoma City police say a man holding a stick was shot and killed by an officer on the city’s southeast side.

Police Capt. Bo Mathews says officers were responding to a report of a hit-and-run around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday when they found a vehicle that matched the description of the one in the crash.

Mathews says two officers confronted a man holding a stick near the vehicle. One officer fired a Taser and the other shot the suspect with a firearm.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Names of the suspect and the two officers have not been released.

Mathews says the officer who shot the man with the firearm was placed on administrative leave.

An investigation is ongoing.

Andrea

09-27-2017, 06:57 AM

Rocklin PD: Officer arrested for using excessive force

Rocklin PD: Officer arrested for using excessive force (Rocklin PD: Officer arrested for using excessive force)

ROCKLIN, Calif. (KCRA) —

A Rocklin police officer was arrested Tuesday for using excessive force while arresting a DUI suspect, the police department said.

Officer Brad Alford, a 15-year veteran of the Rocklin Police Department, was taken into custody around 6 p.m. and booked into Placer County Jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm, assault under the color of authority and filing a false police report, police said.

The investigation into Alford stems from the arrest of a DUI suspect on Sunday, police said. Officers were in the 5400 block of South Grove Street around 6 a.m. to arrest the suspect.

Police said during the arrest, Alford “used a baton in a manner that appeared to be excessive.”

The officer’s actions were later reported to the police department. Investigators reviewed video footage and then “immediately” reached out to the Placer County District Attorney’s Office to conduct an independent review.

The district attorney’s office determined that Alford’s actions “rose to a criminal level” and decided to press charges against the officer.

Alford, who was on paid administrative leave during the investigation, was arrested Tuesday.

The district attorney’s office will continue the criminal investigation into the case while the Rocklin Police Department will conduct an internal investigation to determine if department policies and procedures were violated.

“This is a sad and unfortunate incident for all of those involved, including the community and our organization,” the Rocklin Police Department said in a news release. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated. As a department, we pride ourselves on working with our community and an incident like this tarnishes the reputation of the hardworking men and women who work here.”

Police Chief Chad Butler said during a news conference Tuesday night video of the incident will not be released per a request by the district attorney's office. The DA's office told Butler the video is part of an ongoing investigation and will not be released to the public at this time.

Andrea

09-29-2017, 07:27 AM

‘You like that?’: St. Louis cops savagely beat handcuffed filmmaker while wife watched, suit says

https://thinkprogress.org/st-louis-filmmaker-beating-556a6d98b229/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=59cdbe3d04d30111925ef4c8&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter (https://thinkprogress.org/st-louis-filmmaker-beating-556a6d98b229/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=59cdbe3d04d30111925ef4c8&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter)

On St. Louis’ most restless night of protests for some time, interim police chief Lawrence O’Toole seemed to embrace a tribal us-and-them attitude toward demonstrators in his city. Hours after reporters watched black-clad riot cops chant “Whose streets? Our streets!” at dispersing protesters, O’Toole boasted to press cameras that “police owned the night,” comments which Mayor Lyda Krewson (D) would criticize days later.

It all may have seemed hollow posturing and harmless banter. But a new lawsuit illustrates the very real abuses that such a domineering mentality from law enforcement can foreshadow. O’Toole’s cops allegedly beat, taunted, and repeatedly maced a handcuffed filmmaker that Sunday night, singling the Kansas City man out from a herd of arrestees to punish him physically for recording them. Drew and Jennifer Burbridge sued the city on Tuesday, alleging the kind of unprofessional, illegal mistreatment at police hands that’s routinely drawn protesters into American streets in recent years.

The Burbridges were present late Sunday night, September 17, when officers suddenly encircled a mix of protesters and reporters in a “kettle.” The tactic involves riot police cutting off all exit routes for a group of people and then arresting everyone. The Burbridges say they were not warned at any point to leave, or to avoid going to the intersection where they were filming protesters and police, before the sudden kettling. With the perimeter established, the suit says, officers began indiscriminately spraying pepper spray into the trapped group.

The couple sat down and held onto one another. Police moved inside the kettle. “One of the two officers…stated ‘that’s him’ and grabbed Drew Burbridge by each arm and roughly drug him away from his wife,” the suit says. Despite being told Burbridge was a member of the media and not a protester, the officers “then purposely deployed chemical spray into his mouth and eyes and ripped his camera from his neck,” according to the suit. Officers beat the man repeatedly, first with hands and feet as they got plastic zip-tie cuffs onto him and then going back for seconds with their batons after his hands were bound.

“Do you want to take my picture now motherfucker? Do you want me to pose for you?” one officer allegedly said to Drew during the beating. When the assault caused him to lose consciousness, Drew “awoke to an officer pulling his head up by his hair and spraying him with chemical agents in the face.”

The officers running the kettle and alleged beating were not wearing name badges on their uniforms and declined to identify themselves to either Burbridge throughout the encounter. Multiple officers seemed to taunt Jennifer as she watched her husband beaten, the complaint says. “Did you like that? Come back tomorrow and we can do this again,” one allegedly told her. Another, the complaint says, asked her, “What did you think was going to happen?”

An hour or so later, O’Toole and Krewson would appear on local television to praise their officers for effectively balancing the First Amendment rights of peaceful protesters against the criminality of a small minority of those still present on the streets after dark.

The basis for the police crackdown that night was a handful of smashed windows downtown. But the vandals had been arrested hours earlier by the time the Burbridges arrived and got caught up in the kettle, according to local news reports from the night.

Wide array of unconstitutional tactics alleged in suit over chilling round-up that hit peaceful protesters, journalists, and anarchists alike.

The allegations of collective punishment, targeted brutality against non-resistant arrestees, and a seemingly intentional singling out of media members all echo a separate lawsuit in Washington, D.C., over the city police’s handling of protesters during President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The protests the Burbridges attempted to cover in St. Louis didn’t have anything to do with Donald Trump personally. The city is on edge because another white police officer has been vindicated in the suspicious slaying of a young black man, not because of any acute action from the White House. But the tone and momentum established for police forces around the country by the new administration in Washington has an influence on how both individual officers and whole department cultures view dissent, protest, and civil unrest.

Immediately upon Trump’s taking office, the administration made clear to law enforcement observers that any protest they deemed to be violent should be met with force. In the months since, the president himself has given aid and comfort to the enemies of civil rights, encouraging cops to knock people around after they are arrested but before they have been proven guilty of any crime or even formally charged with one. In his informal political alliances with men like David Clarke and his own speeches, Trump has repeatedly betrayed an affection for roughing up his critics — something a few optimists in political journalism had hoped he might leave behind on the campaign trail.

Kätzchen

09-29-2017, 03:27 PM

Andrea

10-01-2017, 09:09 AM

Brooklyn teen claims NYPD detectives raped her after arrest on drug charge

http://www.nydailynews.com/amp/new-york/nyc-crime/nyc-teen-claims-nypd-cops-raped-arrest-drug-charge-article-1.3530054 (http://www.nydailynews.com/amp/new-york/nyc-crime/nyc-teen-claims-nypd-cops-raped-arrest-drug-charge-article-1.3530054)

A Brooklyn teen claims two NYPD detectives raped her after taking her into custody on a drug charge, authorities said Friday.

The 18-year-old victim’s stunning accusations are now the subject of two investigations by the Brooklyn district attorney’s office and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.

“I’m completely brutalized by the rape. My life is in shatters,” the young woman said through her attorney, Michael David. “Now every time I see any police, I’m in a panic.”

No arrests have been made, but the two detectives and their supervisor have been stripped of their guns and shields and forced on desk duty as the investigations proceed.

Internal Affairs also is looking into the detectives’ prior arrests and questioning confidential informants to see if there are any other victims, according to a high-ranking NYPD source with knowledge of the case.

Brooklyn South Narcotics Detectives Edward Martins and Richard Hall were conducting an undercover buy-and-bust operation in Brighton Beach on Sept. 14 with their supervisor, Sgt. John Espey, when the two detectives for some inexplicable reason drove off in an unmarked Dodge minivan, police sources said.

The pair reappeared at Calvert Vaux Park near Shore Parkway and Bay 44th St. at about 8 p.m. where they found the woman and two friends, both men, sitting in a car.

The cops stopped them “because they weren’t supposed to be in the park,” a friend of the victim who was at the scene said.

The detectives handcuffed the teen after finding marijuana and the anxiety drug Klonopin in a bag next to her and drove her away, according to the friend, who said he was suspicious about the cops from the start.

The two NYPD detectives reappeared at Calvert Vaux Park near Shore Parkway and Bay 44th St. at about 8 p.m. where they find the victim and two friends. Image by: Todd Maisel, New York Daily News/New York Daily News

“I had Prozac on me,” said the friend, who declined to be named. “They said that it’s supposed to be in the bottle but they just gave it back to me.”

They only handcuffed the woman, telling her friends that they were taking her to the 60th Precinct on W. Eighth St. in Coney Island for processing.

Instead, Martins and Hall allegedly took her to a secluded spot about two blocks from the 60th Precinct stationhouse, where she says she was forced to perform a sex act on both cops.

One of the detectives also raped her, David said.

“She’s a teenager and she was basically kidnapped into a police vehicle without any justification,” the attorney said. “She had her handcuffs on when they raped her.”

The detectives then forced her out of the minivan — about 45 minutes after taking her into custody — and drove off.

Her friend went to the 60th Precinct and found the victim nearby.

“She was like ‘They just f----- me,’ ” the friend said. “I couldn’t have done anything but it was definitely just one of those damn moments.”
Not Released (NR)

The friend took the victim to her parents, who rushed her to Maimonides Hospital for an exam. Doctors there found signs of sexual assault and called police who started the investigation, David said.

Internal Affairs hadn’t interviewed the detectives as of Friday as they wait for Brooklyn prosecutors to finish their investigation, but Martins and Hall told colleagues that the sex was consensual, according to the high-ranking police source.

David said his client was outraged by claims the sex was consensual. “She was in shock. She is a very emotional girl,” he said.

David has filed a notice of claim for a lawsuit against the city.

Martins and Hall were put on modified duty because of the allegations. Espey was put on modified duty for failing to supervise the two detectives.

Martins joined the NYPD in July 2006 and became a detective in May 2016. Hall became a cop in 2010 and was promoted to detective in April.

Ed Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said Espey was involved in an arrest at a different location during the incident. He called it “lunacy” for the NYPD to take action against the sergeant.

Espey, 41, has been a cop for 22 years. He was previously assigned to the 67 Precinct.

Michael Palladino, the president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, declined to comment on the probe. “The investigation is ongoing and the information is changing hourly,” he said.

Andrea

10-01-2017, 10:36 AM

Convicted, but still policing

http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-police-officers-convicted-of-serious-crimes-still-on-the-job/437687453/ (http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-police-officers-convicted-of-serious-crimes-still-on-the-job/437687453/)

Jared Taylor choked a man until he blacked out.

Steven Brown fired a .38 Special during a confrontation with his fiancée.

Tom Bernardson punched a man so viciously that he put him in the hospital with a concussion.

All three were convicted in Minnesota courts.

And all three still work in law enforcement.

They are among hundreds of sworn officers in Minnesota who were convicted of criminal offenses in the past two decades yet kept their state law enforcement licenses, according to public records examined by the Star Tribune. Dozens of them are still on the job with a badge, a gun and the public’s trust that they will uphold the law.

The cases reveal a state licensing system that is failing repeatedly to hold officers accountable for reckless, sometimes violent, conduct.

In Minnesota, doctors and lawyers can lose their professional licenses for conduct that is unethical or unprofessional — even if they never break a law. Yet law enforcement officers can stay on the job for years even when a judge or jury finds them guilty of criminal behavior.

“The public trusts that we’re not going to act like that,” said former Prior Lake Police Chief Bill O’Rourke, describing an officer who kept his state license despite being fired for a violent outburst. “The public needs to trust that those officers are going to be held accountable.”

Records also show that scores of the convictions stemmed from off-duty misconduct — including brawls, stalking and domestic altercations — that raise questions about an officer’s temperament for a job that authorizes the use of force.

Law enforcement leaders say it’s important for citizens to have confidence that officers are held to the highest ethical standards — on duty or off duty. In fact, Minnesota’s model code of ethics says that officers shall not discredit themselves or their agency either on-duty or off. Yet Minnesota seems to have developed a culture of second chances for those who wear a badge, said Neil Melton, a former Bloomington police officer who ran Minnesota’s licensing board for 16 years.

“Benefit of the doubt. Benefit of the doubt. Benefit of the doubt,” Melton said. “At what point do we say enough is enough?”

Records also show that Minnesota, once a pioneer in professionalizing police work, has fallen far behind other states on police discipline. Among 44 states with comparable licensing, Minnesota ranks 38th in revoking law enforcement licenses, based on numbers compiled by Seattle University criminologist Matthew Hickman. The national average for revocations is 12 times higher than Minnesota’s.

In Georgia, for example, the state board can revoke an officer’s license for committing any act “which is indicative of bad moral character or untrustworthiness.” In Minnesota, revocation almost always requires a criminal conviction.

In Oregon, officers lose their licenses for any criminal conviction with an element of domestic violence. The state, which has fewer police than Minnesota, revokes about 35 licenses each year.

Today, Minnesota revokes one or two.

Andrea: Clink link for rest of article.

Andrea

10-03-2017, 06:37 AM

Michigan trooper resigns as ATV probe widens

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/03/trooper-atv-probe-widens/106253324/ (http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/03/trooper-atv-probe-widens/106253324/)

The Michigan State Police trooper accused of using his stun gun on a 15-year-old ATV driver has resigned, while two other state cops involved in the fatal incident have been suspended, a state police official said Monday.

Meanwhile, Detroit police are investigating a state police sergeant who allegedly discarded evidence from the scene, three Detroit police sources involved in the case told The Detroit News.

Before Detroit and state police launched separate criminal investigations into Damon Grimes’ Aug. 26 death, the sergeant, a supervisor who had responded to the scene, collected one of the stun gun’s wires and prongs and later threw them into a trash can at a state police post, the sources said.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the sergeant was trying to cover up evidence, or was simply being careless by throwing the wire away, the sources said. The other wire used in the incident was left at the scene and taken into evidence, the sources said.

Detroit police detectives plan to submit warrant requests to prosecutors seeking charges against the sergeant, the driver of the state police cruiser and the passenger who deployed the stun gun, the sources said.

The passenger, trooper Mark Bessner, has resigned from the state police, MSP spokeswoman Shanon Banner said Monday. She added two other state cops have been suspended in connection with the incident, although she would not identify them or what they did.

“We have started submitting our reports to the prosecutor’s office, and now we want to respect them and let them carry out their role in this process,” Banner said. “We have conducted a thorough investigation and we want to be as transparent as possible, but we need to let prosecutors review our investigation report.

“As a result of our investigation, we thought it was appropriate to suspend two other employees,” Banner said. “Another (Bessner) has chosen to resign.”

Bessner was suspended Aug. 28, and resigned Sept. 22, Banner said. The two others were suspended Sept. 26, she said.

Bessner’s attorney Richard Convertino did not reply Monday to a phone call seeking comment. A message left with the Michigan State Police Troopers Association was not returned.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office received a warrant request from the state police Friday and returned it Monday to the agency for further investigation, assistant prosecutor Maria Miller said.

Miller would not say what name or names were on the MSP warrant request.

As state police submit their reports to prosecutors, Detroit police investigators are still weighing which charges to seek against the three men, according to the Detroit police sources. If it’s determined the MSP sergeant was merely careless, investigators might seek a misdemeanor charge against him, the sources said.

Police Chief James Craig declined to comment. “It’s an ongoing investigation,” he said.

Stun guns deliver up to 50,000 volts of electricity by firing a pair of barbed electrodes attached to conductive wires. The cartridge containing the electrodes and wires is replaced after each use. For a stun gun to work effectively, both barbed prongs must lodge into the target’s skin to complete the electric circuit.

Stun gun wires and prongs could contain important evidence in a court case, legal experts said.

“If the Taser prongs go into the body, there could be DNA evidence to show (the Taser) actually hit the target,” said Curt Benson, a professor at the Cooley School of Law. “Police would want to save and conserve every conceivable piece of evidence at a scene.”

University of Michigan law professor David Moran agreed. “If the Taser prong is embedded in someone’s body, you’d expect their DNA to be present, and that could be evidence that could be used in a criminal prosecution.”

DNA from stun gun prongs has been used in trials, including a 2007 Monterey County, California, case in which police linked a man to a rape by extracting DNA from a Taser’s barbs after the stun gun was used on him in a separate incident. Some stun gun manufacturers list DNA extraction as one of the benefits of the devices.

State police say Grimes was illegally driving the ATV in the streets of his east side neighborhood when he was ordered to stop. Grimes didn’t comply before Bessner deployed his stun gun, police said.

The stun gun’s electrically charged barbed prongs hit Grimes, who crashed into a flatbed and died from blunt-force head injuries, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Bessner was suspended two days after the incident for allegedly violating department policy by using his stun gun while in a moving vehicle. Bessner was previously accused of excessive force in two separate lawsuits, although the cases against him were dismissed.

All three suspensions related to the case were paid, Banner said. “If they are charged with a crime, we can move to an unpaid suspension,” she said.

In the wake of the incident, investigations were launched by state police and Detroit police. On Friday, officials with both agencies said the respective probes are winding down.

“We’re waiting on forensic analysis to come back from evidence items, although I won’t say what those evidence items are,” Craig said.

“The investigation is moving along like we’d hoped it would but when you talk about forensic analysis, those things don’t come back in a few days,” Craig said.

The chief added Wayne County prosecutors have been working with Detroit police investigators on the case.

Banner said the MSP investigation into the incident also is coming to a close. She said an internal investigation will be conducted after the criminal probe is finished.

“There are still some pieces that are outstanding that we continue to work on, and we fully expect the prosecutor’s office may request additional follow-up once they have the opportunity to review our reports,” Banner said.

The incident has sparked several protests, and prompted state police to temporarily pull troopers out of the 9th Precinct to avoid stoking animosity in Grimes’ neighborhood. Troopers had been assigned to the precinct as part of the state’s Secure Cities Partnership initiative.

Geoffrey Fieger, attorney for Grimes’ family, has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the state.

State police changed the agency’s policy in the city after the incident to match Detroit’s edict that officers refrain from high-speed chases unless they’re pursuing someone perceived to be a danger to the community. Prior to the change, state police routinely chased traffic violators and others committing nonviolent crimes.

Andrea

10-06-2017, 08:26 AM

Cleveland police officer attacked woman and then arrested her on false charges, court records say

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/10/cleveland_police_officer_charg_12.html (http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/10/cleveland_police_officer_charg_12.html)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland police officer is accused of attacking a woman and having her arrested under false pretenses.

Sgt. Christopher Graham, 38, is charged with assault, unlawful restraint, both first-degree misdemeanors. Graham was arrested on Thursday. Cleveland Municipal Judge Ronald Adrine set a personal bond for Graham.

Graham, who was hired as an officer in 1996, will be arraigned Friday.

Graham has twice been the subject of civil lawsuits filed by people who accused him of similar behavior. Both lawsuits resulted in cash settlements, and Graham was allowed to return to the street.

The most recent incident happened Sept. 12 at the Sunoco gas station on Lorain Road near West 136th Street, according to court records.

Graham attacked the woman, had her arrested and booked into the city jail on a charge of assaulting a police officer, court records say. He filed a false police report that led to the woman being charged with a felony, according to court records.

Court records do not say what provoked the attack. Cleveland police officials have not responded to messages Thursday seeking more information regarding the incident.

Cleveland Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Betley did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.

Graham twice has been the subject of lawsuits filed by people who accused him of abusing his police power.

In 2003, he had two patrolmen arrest his then-live-in-girlfriend on a trespassing charge after an argument despite the fact that the woman lived at the Oak Park Avenue home.

The city settled that lawsuit for $14,000.

Two years later, Graham issued a man a traffic citation shortly after arguing with him over a parking spot outside a coffee shop in the city's Collinwood neighborhood.

The two argued again and Graham told him: "You're assaulting me." The two fought and the man initially slipped away from Graham and ran.

Graham chased him down inside the coffee shop, tackled him and cracked him on the back of the head with his metal flashlight. He then threw the man into a rack of coffee mugs, which fell to the ground and shattered, and beat him again over the head with his flashlight, until he bled, according to the lawsuit.

The man said the officer pinned him to the floor with a knee in his chest and his hands around his neck until other officers arrived.

Graham handcuffed and arrested the man on charges of assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.

He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where they treated him for his head injuries and stapled shut his wounds before releasing him back to police custody.

A grand jury declined to indict Graham on Dec. 12, 2005.

The city paid $7,500 to settle that lawsuit in 2007.

It is unknown if Graham was disciplined for the two incidents.

Andrea

10-09-2017, 03:54 PM

Bodycam footage shows Utah police shoot man as he runs away

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/08/us/patrick-harmon-utah-police-shooting/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/08/us/patrick-harmon-utah-police-shooting/index.html)

The Salt Lake City Police Department is the latest US police department to come under scrutiny after bodycam footage shows an officer shooting and killing a man, even as the man appeared to be running away.

An officer shot and killed Patrick Harmon, a 50-year-old black man, as he was being arrested on the evening of August 13.

On Wednesday, after a seven week investigation, the Salt Lake County district attorney concluded the officers' use of deadly force was justified because the officers said they feared Harmon was going to hurt them, according to a letter the district attorney sent to the Salt Lake County Sheriff and the city's police chief detailing his investigation into the incident.

Bodycam footage shows Harmon running away from police before he is shot by Salt Lake City police Officer Clinton Fox. The officers later said Harmon threatened them with a knife.

"That video is horrifying. It is just not right," Antionette Harmon, Patrick's older sister, told CNN. "I'm not understanding none of this, how it was justified or anything. It's not fair."

Harmon said her brother was bipolar, schizophrenic and possibly homeless.
Police claim Harmon had a knife.

Harmon was stopped by a police officer on the evening of August 13 after he rode a bicycle across six lanes and a median, according to a narrative laid out by the district attorney, Sim Gill. Harmon was required to have a "red rear tail light on his bicycle," the officer told him.

The officer called for backup after Harmon provided "a couple different names" when he was asked for identification, according to Gill. The officers discovered felony warrants were open for Harmon's arrest -- one of which was for aggravated assault, Gill's report says. As they tried to put handcuffs on him, he ran. The officers chased after him.

In the bodycam footage, of which there are three angles for each of the officers, released by the Salt Lake City Police Department, Fox can be seen shooting Harmon three times as he runs in the opposite direction.

The officer who initially stopped Harmon, Kris Smith, fired his Taser, according to the district attorney's report.

Fox later told investigators that as Harmon was running away, he stopped and turned back toward the officers with a knife in his hand, yelling, "I'll f***ing stab you."

"Officer Fox said he feared if he didn't immediately use deadly force, Mr. Harmon was going to stab him and/or the other officers," Gill's report says.

In his investigation, Gill weighed the testimony of all three officers present -- Fox, Smith and Scott Robinson.

Smith and Robinson's accounts of what Harmon said before being shot vary slightly from Fox's. Smith told investigators he heard Harmon say, "I'm going to cut ..." the report says. Meanwhile, Robinson said he heard Harmon say, "'I stab' or something to that effect," according to the report, though he said he "couldn't remember Mr. Harmon's exact words."

Gill's report says Harmon can be seen in the bodycam video with a knife in his hand, and that investigators took photographs of the knife at the scene.
Ultimately, the district attorney's office found the shooting was a "'justified' use of deadly force," and chose not to pursue criminal charges against Fox.

Harmon's death is the latest to revive concerns into police officers' use of deadly force against black men throughout the United States, as other officer-involved shootings have done in recent years.

"Really, black people don't matter, homeless people don't matter," Antionette Harmon said.

Adriane Harmon, Antionette's daughter, described the video as "heartbreaking" and "horrifying," and vowed to seek justice on behalf of her uncle.

"I want to fight the decision," she said. "I don't believe that (DA decision) was justified. (We're) looking at attorneys now."

In a statement sent to CNN on Sunday, Jeanetta Williams, the president of the Salt Lake City chapter of the NAACP, said the organization was investigating Harmon's death.

"It seemed like more could have been done by the police officers to apprehend Mr. Patrick Harmon than shooting him in the back as he ran," Williams said, adding Harmon was simply afraid.

The statement points out the officers "were a lot younger" than Harmon, and they could have easily tackled him. "He was never given the time to heed the officers' command before they shot him," she said.

Lex Scott, founder of The United Front civil rights organization, called for police accountability.

"District Attorney Sim Gill has denied the people of Salt Lake City justice repeatedly. At this time he needs to hold police accountable or we need a new district attorney," she said.

Andrea

10-18-2017, 09:03 AM

Sevier deputy suffered panic attack while armed, couple charged with causing it

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2017/10/16/sevier-deputy-suffered-panic-attack-while-armed-couple-charged-causing/759465001/ (http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2017/10/16/sevier-deputy-suffered-panic-attack-while-armed-couple-charged-causing/759465001/)

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn., — A Sevier County Sheriff’s Office deputy opened fire without warning in a mobile home park, suffered an apparent panic attack four minutes later and was forcibly disarmed by a paramedic, body camera footage shows.

Deputy Justin Johnson did not mention the panic attack in his report on the December 2016 incident, and he remains on active duty, court records show.

Brian Keith Mullinax, 41, and his girlfriend, Tina Carrie Jo Cody, 37, spent 42 days in jail on felony charges, accused of causing what was described in court statements as a "panic attack" and which a detective called "some type of cardiac event." They remain under prosecution on misdemeanor charges, court records show.
Gunfire, panic

A spokesman for Sevier County Sheriff Ron “Hoss” Seals did not return a phone message. It’s not clear from court records whether the sheriff’s office conducted an internal investigation, ordered psychological testing for Johnson, or required him to undergo counseling or additional training.

Cody was unarmed and being held on the ground by Johnson and paramedic Blake Gregg when Johnson fired four shots toward a set of mobile homes, paused and fired three more, the video obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee showed. He ran away from Cody and Gregg toward Sharp Road.

“Shots fired,” he told dispatchers. “We need help.”

Four minutes later, Johnson was kneeling over Cody, who had remained on the ground, with his gun still in his hand when the video showed he began hyperventilating and running backward away from the mobile homes and Cody.

Paramedic Michael O’Connor ran toward Johnson.

“Pull it together,” O’Connor told Johnson. “Look at me.”

Johnson continued to hyperventilate while pointing his gun toward Cody, Gregg and the mobile homes.

“Give me your gun,” O’Connor repeatedly said. A still hyperventilating Johnson continued to grip the gun. O’Connor eventually wrested it from his hand.

“Let go of it,” O’Connor said.

Johnson continued to hyperventilate.

“Easy, buddy,” O’Connor said as he trained Johnson’s gun toward the mobile homes. “I got it under control. Calm down. It’s OK.”

One minute and 30 seconds after Johnson began hyperventilating, his breathing slowed.

“I’m OK,” he said. “I’m OK.”

O’Connor handed Johnson his gun back. He had hyperventilated so strongly one of his contact lens popped out of his eye, the video showed. He tossed it away as he trained his gun toward the mobile homes, where an unarmed Mullinax was facedown on the ground with his arms extended.

The video showed Mullinax obeyed Johnson when – after Johnson had fired seven shots and ran away – the deputy ordered him to the ground, and he never moved from that position during or after Johnson’s panic attack.

Mullinax is set to stand trial in Sevier County Criminal Court on Tuesday on a charge that he assaulted Johnson. A lower court judge already dropped felony charges against both Cody and Mullinax, and a grand jury refused to indict Cody for causing the panic attack. She remains charged with resisting arrest.

The couple spent 42 days in jail because they were too poor to post bond and did not get a preliminary hearing within 10 business days as the law requires, records showed. It’s not clear why from those court records.

Records and video showed the following:

Johnson was called to the mobile home park at 794 Sharp Road by paramedics. A “morbidly obese female” had fallen inside one of the homes and was complaining about landlord Robin Sutton – Cody’s mother – and Cody, Johnson wrote in his report.

The woman was disoriented, he wrote, and “didn’t know what day or time it was that she had fallen.” Sutton was on the front porch, the video showed. Cody was in the yard. She and Mullinax lived in a neighboring mobile home.

Among the woman’s claims was that Sutton and Cody had stolen her purse. As the woman was still talking, Cody walked to a fence and climbed through it into a field. Johnson drew his gun but ran away from the field, around a mobile home and onto Sharp Road. Cody was standing in the field facing Sharp Road.

“Don’t move,” Johnson yelled.

Cody turned and ran, pulling off her jacket. Johnson, gun in his right hand, used his left hand to pull her onto the ground, and paramedic Gregg helped Johnson hold her down.

'I heard a male voice'

Mullinax walked onto his porch with a cell phone in his hand. The porch was facing Johnson. But Johnson wrote in his report he heard a noise behind him.

“I heard a male voice coming from a short distance behind me shout, ‘I’ve got a gun, (expletive),’” Johnson wrote. “I turned to notice (a suspect) pacing wildly on the porch of a nearby mobile home and then squat while aiming an object at me that appeared to be a firearm in his hand. I immediately discharged my weapon.”

Johnson issued no warning and fired over Gregg’s head.

Mullinax, records show, did not say he had a gun or threaten to harm Johnson. He had a cell phone and yelled at Johnson that he was filming the deputy’s handling of girlfriend Cody.

Johnson immediately ran away after firing the shots. When he returned to the location in the field where Gregg still had Cody on the ground, he yelled at Mullinax, “You drop that (expletive) thing. Do it now.”

Mullinax dropped the phone and got on the ground. He yelled a complaint but did not threaten violence.

“You shut the (expletive) up,” Johnson said.

The deputy told dispatchers everything was fine.

“I’ve got him on the ground,” he said, adding Mullinax was unarmed. “I don’t know what he did with it (the object in his hand).”

A short time later, Johnson’s panic attack began.

Court battle brewing

Johnson wrote in his report that he opened fire “in defense for my life” and the safety of the paramedics.

SCSO Detective Johnny Bohanan later added notes to Johnson’s report about the panic attack. They were brief.

“Because of the assault on Johnson and the fact that he was taken to the hospital with injuries and may have suffered some type of cardiac event as the result of this assault by both the male and female and all the statements and evidence, I charged” Mullinax and Cody with aggravated assault, Bohanan wrote.

Prosecutor Ron Newcomb has declined comment. It’s not clear if the trial will take place Tuesday. Several are set. Defense attorneys were not immediately available for comment.

Attorneys John S. “Stan” Young III and Cameron Bell confirmed this week they are investigating the incident to determine if there are grounds to file a lawsuit on behalf of Mullinax and Cody.

Andrea

10-21-2017, 09:05 PM

Police used a Taser on a grandfather, who's now in intensive care. They say it was for his safety.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/10/21/police-used-a-taser-on-a-granddad-whos-now-in-intensive-care-they-say-it-was-for-his-safety/?utm_term=.239c6fca43a0 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/10/21/police-used-a-taser-on-a-granddad-whos-now-in-intensive-care-they-say-it-was-for-his-safety/?utm_term=.239c6fca43a0)

Albert Chatfield has good days where he’s clear-eyed and lucid, quick with a joke and more than capable of taking care of himself in his home just north of Charleston.

But his family had begun to worry about the 86-year-old’s bad days. They fear it’s the earliest stage of dementia — blocks of time where he’s foggy about who or where he is, afraid of nonexistent dangers and wary of strangers.

Police encountered him on one of those bad days, his family’s attorney said, and their early-morning encounter in Kingstree, S.C., left Chatfield hospitalized in intensive care, bleeding from the brain and breathing only with the help of a ventilator.

Chatfield’s family is hoping for optimistic news from his doctors, who worry he won’t survive his injuries.

From the police, they simply want answers.

“They messed up big time,” their attorney, Justin Bamberg told The Washington Post, adding that he believes officers in Kingstree need additional training.

“This is a case of a mental-health issue, and officers not being properly trained to handle these situations. Not everyone that you run into that isn’t listening to you is a danger. Maybe they need help. Instead of helping, they put him in intensive care.”

Last weekend, Bamberg said, Chatfield had been confused, and called 911 several times. The subject matter was unclear, but authorities were worried enough to call his family. They made arrangements to take him to the doctor the next day.

Something went wrong before then.

Early Monday, someone called 911 saying a driver was behaving erratically, preventing a vehicle from turning. The wayward driver was Chatfield, and things got worse when officers arrived, according to the Kingstree News.

Chatfield sped away from police, running red lights, making turns at random.

His erratic behavior continued after he finally stopped at Main and Brooks streets. Officers ordered him to the ground, but he wouldn’t comply. Instead, he took what officers described as a fighting stance, according to a police report obtained by the Charleston Post & Courier. Then he started jogging backward.

One of the responding officers shocked him with a Taser, which uses a jolt of electricity to seize a person’s muscles.

Chatfield crashed to the ground, hitting his head and injuring his nose. Pictures sent to The Washington Post showed him with gashes on his face as well.

Police Chief James Barr could not be reached for comment on Saturday. He told news outlets that Chatfield’s adversarial nature was the ultimate reason for the use of force.

“You have an elderly man still charging and he wants to fight the police so they got the [Taser] pulled on him to try and calm him down so they could talk to him,” Barr told the Kingstree News. He said Chatfield continued to resist officers after they handcuffed him and led him to the sidewalk.

“After we got the medical report now we understand why he was doing what he was doing,” Barr added. “But for officers’ safety and his safety, that’s why he was tased, because he was in a rage and trying to fight in the middle of the highway. We didn’t want the man to get hit.”

On Saturday, Bamberg said he took issue with the department’s rationale for using force. Chatfield wasn’t a danger to officers or other people — and he was outnumbered by police officers much younger than him.

“They are saying that due to traffic in this tiny town, we tased him for his own safety, and I find that extremely problematic,” Bamberg told The Post. “If traffic is what you were concerned about, why would you completely incapacitate an individual so he can’t get out of the way of traffic.

“It’s a clear lack of Taser training — a clear lack of understanding Constitutional restraint to use force on an individual. I think it is inhumane.”

The incident comes as police departments are under intense scrutiny for their use of force against suspects, particularly minorities.

Chatfield is black. The officer who shocked him — Stephen Sweikata who’d worked in Kingstree since April — is white. Bamberg said he didn’t think race was explicitly at play, although they have not received dash cam footage and other evidence.

In 2015, 995 people were shot dead by police officers. Of those, 259 were black — more than one in four, according to a Washington Post database on police shootings. So far in 2017, 782 people have been shot and killed by police, 183 of whom were black.

Family members told the Post & Courier they were shocked to find themselves members of the fraternity of families who’ve had violent encounters with police. They have not ruled out a lawsuit, Bamberg said, but for now the focus is on Chatfield’s health.

And they were trying to reconcile the jovial, funny patriarch of their family with the police description of a man so threatening an officer had to pull out a Taser.

“He wouldn’t hurt anybody,” his daughter, Jodi Mack, told the Post & Courier. “He would only make you hurt laughing.”

Andrea

10-22-2017, 10:54 AM

How Rikers Island and the failing justice system killed this public defender’s young, opioid-addicted client

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/rikers-island-justice-system-killed-young-opioid-addict-article-1.3579406 (http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/rikers-island-justice-system-killed-young-opioid-addict-article-1.3579406)

He was incarcerated, caged, stripped of his family, friends, and dignity. And just four days before his 28th birthday, he was dead.

When Selmin Feratovic died early Thursday at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, he had been incarcerated for nearly seven months but had not been convicted of a crime.

I was Selmin’s public defender. When I met him, the first thing I noticed was his shy smile. He seemed like a kid with his messy hair, soft voice, and a grin that would unexpectedly snake across his face and then disappear as suddenly as it appeared.

He was unfailingly polite. I was always “Miss Anisha.” He always asked me how I was doing, if I was okay. And when we were finished talking — after I told him, again, that he wasn’t going home on this court date either — he would thank me for trying to help.

“I’m sorry, Selmin, I just wish I could get you out,” I would say to him.

“What are you sorry for, Miss? You didn’t put me here,” he would reply.

It’s true, I didn’t put him there. But I couldn’t get him out. And now he’s dead.

Thus far, the New York City Department of Correction, which governs Rikers, has refused to provide Selmin’s lawyers or his family with his cause of death. But they don’t have to, because I already know what happened.

Selmin was killed by a system that overcharged him, incarcerated him, ignored him, and ultimately failed to protect him. He was a victim of the opioid epidemic, the war on drugs, and anti-immigrant policy. His tragic death is an entirely predictable consequence of the criminal justice system as it currently dysfunctions.

In March, Selmin was accused of entering an apartment laundry room and trying to pry open the coin machine. Nothing was actually taken, and no one from the apartment identified Selmin as the person seen in the laundry room. But based on surveillance video, police believed he was responsible and arrested him.

In a gross example of overcharging, the Bronx District Attorney’s office charged Selmin with burglary in the second degree; a class “C” violent felony, carrying a minimum prison sentence of 31/2 years. At his arraignment, the judge set Selmin’s bail at $50,000, refusing to lower the amount requested by the prosecution for this young man whose previous involvement with the criminal justice system resulted in no convictions, but made it abundantly clear he needed help, not incarceration.

The bail that was set was not a reasonable amount that would ensure his return to court, as the law requires, but an amount designed to keep him incarcerated.

It amounted to a death sentence.

For months, his social worker, his immigration lawyer and I labored to get Selmin out. We knew that guilty or not, his struggle was drugs. He needed treatment because, like so many others, Selmin was trapped by opioid addiction.

In 2011, he was grievously injured in a motorcycle accident, underwent surgery and was hospitalized. Doctors prescribed oxycodone. It wasn’t long before Selmin became dependent. Still in pain, he learned that heroin had the same effect as oxycodone, and before he knew it, he was spiraling.

With the support of his partner, Nicole, Selmin fought to get into treatment, but his addiction was indomitable. There were countless trips to the hospital, late-night ambulance rides, and emergency phone calls.

Selmin’s battle with drugs was well known to the DA’s office. They knew he was going through more heroin a day than the heaviest users, and was dangerously close to an overdose. They knew he wanted help and was willing to take a plea involving inpatient treatment.

They also knew that Selmin — who came from Montenegro to the U.S. legally as a child — was a lawful permanent resident, not a citizen. Pleading guilty to felony burglary could result in deportation and permanent separation from his family.

Still, the DA’s office was intransigent. They offered drug treatment, but insisted that Selmin plead guilty to a felony charge. However, that felony plea could trigger deportation proceedings, landing him back in the country he had left as a child, away from the drug treatment program and family whose support he would need to rehabilitate himself.

Selmin’s choices: on the one hand, he could plead guilty and get out of jail, only to be put in ICE detention and deported. On the other, he could plead not guilty and stay in the only country he’s known, but remain caged as he fought his case. Incarceration or deportation.

I begged for an alternative. What about misdemeanor criminal trespassing with mandatory inpatient treatment? Or what about releasing Selmin into a program without forcing him to plead guilty? Then, if he succeeded, he could plead to a lesser charge and avoid deportation?

The DA was unmoved.

I tried to persuade different judges to release Selmin into a program and let him fight his case while getting the treatment he needed.

They replied that this would only be possible if the DA is on board.

No matter how hard we tried to explain this catch-22, the prosecutor and the judge refused to act.

If Selmin were a U.S. citizen, he could have taken their offer, gotten out of jail six months ago, and received the help he was desperate for. If Selmin were rich, he could have paid bail and fought this absurdly overcharged case from the safety of his home.

Nicole was notified of Selmin’s death not by jail officials, but by another prisoner who called to convey his sympathies. For hours, his family couldn’t even get confirmation from the DOC of his passing. Even in death, this system is unwilling to show Selmin the basic human decency he and his family deserve.

Selmin was so much more than the charges he faced, and he deserved none of the pain he endured. He was a father to two cherubic babies, a son to hardworking immigrant parents, a big brother to siblings who adored him, and a partner to a girlfriend who never gave up on him.

His death should be a clarion call for accountability, systemic change, and true justice.

Kätzchen

10-23-2017, 09:56 AM

I've been following the oxycontin crises back in NYC via other media outlet news sources and it's just terrible! :(

To me, it's an dirty shame that this crises is not only an tell tale sign (red flag) about police brutality, but it's an indictment
On the justice system, the law system, the medical industry and pharmaceutical industry and the way that even the FDA seems to turn an blind eye on an multi-stakeholder issue between multiple agencies nation wide.

Also, it would appear that whistle blower organizations seem to not be able to blow up the triangulation of multiple parties who are getting rich off this 'Madoff' type rip off. That makes me think that even Wall Street is part of this problematic social crime, as well as citizens who won't rise up against this willful and intolerant type of ignorance, when really, imho, it's not ignorance driving the process, but corruption at every level of social agencies and the judicial system.

If it's left unaddressed, then it seems to me that social justice will never be employed as an social corrective. Which, if true, then shame on everyone for not ....doing the right thing.(w)

Andrea

10-28-2017, 07:37 AM

Bike ride turns to fearful encounter with police

https://freepressokc.com/bike-ride-turns-to-fearful-encounter-with-police/ (https://freepressokc.com/bike-ride-turns-to-fearful-encounter-with-police/)

Fear led to more fear Thursday morning as Kelsey Pierce was riding her bike to work at the Tower Theater on NW 23rd Street.

A sudden encounter with Oklahoma City police officer James Herlihy at NW 21st and Dewey led to what Pierce described as “complete fear” when the officer handcuffed her and placed her in the back of his patrol car.

The turn of events was set in motion by a fearful Mesta Park neighborhood resident who called 911 around 9:30 a.m.

911

An OKCPD call log obtained by Free Press shows the resident saying there was a white male and white female “on bikes riding around the area looking in driveways.”

The log also shows the caller thought they might have been “looking to see who was home.”

Pierce somewhat matched the description of the reported white female because she was wearing a dark top and carrying a backpack.

That was the pretext for Herlihy stopping Pierce.

“Someone called about a female with a black shirt on with a backpack looking in people’s driveway,” Herlihy told her about one minute and 35 seconds into the encounter.

Jail threat

But it was the officer’s response to her impatience that shifted her feelings to fear.

“At some point he asked me if I wanted to go to jail,” Pierce told Free Press in an interview Friday.

“I’ve never been to jail. I’ve never been in handcuffs. I’ve never been in the back of a cop car.”

While waiting on headquarters to run a warrant search which showed nothing, Herlihy searched Pierce’s belongings without her permission.

Free Press obtained the video of the whole encounter captured by Herlihy’s body-worn camera, one of hundreds now in use by OKCPD policy.

Complaint

Pierce called in a complaint to the department because of what she believes to be aggressive behavior on the part of the officer for little reason.

While waiting for the warrant search Herlihy engaged in a short conversation through the patrol car window with Pierce.

She told him she was stumbling with responding to him at first because he startled her.

“Obviously you weren’t, that’s why you are in handcuffs in the back seat of the car, because you were throwing stuff at me,” Herlihy said. “You handed the ID card to me like you wanted to use it as a weapon and throw it at me.”

One entry in the call log shows that Herlihy tried to back up the assertion of the license being thrown. But, the video shows that Pierce simply handed the license to him.

Shock

Some of the many people who regularly bike through Mesta Park were shocked when news of the encounter started to filter out onto Twitter Thursday night.

Chad Hodges is one of the original organizers of DNA Racing, a pro bike racing team based in OKC.

And some openly asked what might have happened if she had not been a white woman riding through a predominantly white neighborhood.

Pierce told us Friday that she has a new appreciation for the kind of fear that black people feel when they are stopped for seemingly small infractions and treated like criminals.

She was aware of the disproportionate stops police have made Oklahoma City’s past, but this event seemed to make it all more real for her.

“This is minute in comparison,” said Pierce. “But, feeling that way every day when you are walking out the door would be enough to make me stay home for the rest of my life.”

Legal questions

Her attorney, Bryce P. Harp, questions the legality of the stop.

He cited the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures.

“First, any person that is stopped by a law enforcement officer has the right to know why they are being stopped,” said Harp.

He said that Pierce’s being detained in the way she was amounted to an arrest in that she was not free to go.

“She was not given her due process right,” Harp said.

Recent Supreme Court decisions allow searches connected to an arrest, but it is based upon a lawful arrest having been made.

“If she had been lawfully arrested, then they could have searched her stuff without her consent. But it was not a lawful arrest, so it was an unlawful search,” Harp said.

Investigation

Captain Bo Mathews with the OKCPD held a news conference on the matter at police headquarters Friday afternoon.

He said the matter would be investigated at the Division level but would not be referred to internal affairs investigators.

In response to a question by Free Press, Mathews said that the procedure for handling disciplinary matters like this one have a clear path defined by the officer’s contract negotiated by the police union and the department.

Andrea

10-30-2017, 11:04 AM

Federal court rules police can shoot a dog if it moves or barks when officer enters home

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/12/28/federal-court-rules-police-can-shoot-a-dog-if-it-moves-or-barks/21643443/ (https://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/12/28/federal-court-rules-police-can-shoot-a-dog-if-it-moves-or-barks/21643443/)

A police officer can shoot a dog if it barks or moves when the officer enters a home, under a new federal court ruling issued this month.

The ruling comes after police in Battle Creek, Michigan, shot two pit bulls while searching a home for evidence of drugs in 2013.

The dogs' owners, Mark and Cheryl Brown, filed a lawsuit against the Battle Creek Police Department and the city, claiming that killing the dogs amounted to the unlawful seizure of property in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The district court sided with the police officers and the Browns filed an appeal with United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The lawsuit states that when officers arrived to conduct the search, Mark Brown told an officer he had a key to the front door and that his two dogs were in the residence. However, another officer testified that he didn't hear about the comments before police broke down the door.

According to the lawsuit, Officer Christof Klein testified that when he entered the house, a large, brown pit bull jumped off the couch, aggressively barked at the officers and lunged at him.

Officer Klein stated that the first pit bull "had only moved a few inches" between the time when he entered the residence and when he shot her, but he considered the movement to be a "lunge."

Another officer stated that "the amount of time between the door coming open and the shot was extremely small... maybe a second or less."

Klien stated that after he fire the shot, the dog "moved away from the officers and towards the kitchen, then down the stairs and into the basement." A smaller, white pit bull had also gone down into the basement.

"As the officers were descending the stairs to clear the basement, they noted that the first pit bull was at the bottom of the stairs," the lawsuit states. "Klein testified that the first pit bull obstructed the path to the basement, and that he 'did not feel [the officers] could safely clear the basement with those dogs down there.'"

"When the officers were halfway down the stairs, the first dog, who was at the bottom of the staircase, turned towards them and started barking again. From the staircase, Officer Klein fired two fatal rounds at the first pit bull," the lawsuit states.

"Klein testified that after he shot and killed the first dog, he noticed the second dog standing about halfway across the basement. The second dog was not moving towards the officers when they discovered her in the basement, but rather she was 'just standing there'... barking," the lawsuit continues.

Klein fired two rounds at the second dog.

After being shot by Officer Klein, the second dog ran to the back corner of the basement. Then a second officer shot her because she was "moving" out of the corner and in his direction, the lawsuit states.

The wounded pit bull ran behind the furnace in the back corner of the basement. A third officer noted that "[there] was blood coming out of numerous holes in the dog, and . . . [he] didn't want to see it suffer" so he shot her again, to "put her out of her misery."

On Dec. 19, the appeals court issued a ruling stating that the officers acted reasonably in the case and the Browns' constitutional rights were not violated.

"The seizures of the dogs in this case were reasonable given the specific circumstances surrounding the raid," the court ruled.

"[It] was reasonable for the officers to force entry because they had information that [a known gang member] used the residence to distribute cocaine and heroin, and they did not know whether gang members would be in the residence armed and ready to fire at the officers," the ruling states.

"[The] officers would not have used the keys Mark Brown offered to give them because the officers would not have had any idea whether those keys were the correct keys. Defendants' counsel persuasively argued that Mark Brown could have given the officers the wrong set of keys, and the resulting delay could have given somebody in the house the opportunity to destroy the drugs or time to prepare to attack or shoot the officers as they entered the residence," the ruling states.

Judge Eric Clay stated "a police officer's use of deadly force against a dog while executing a search warrant to search a home for illegal drug activity is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment when... the dog poses an imminent threat to the officer's safety."

Andrea

10-31-2017, 08:00 AM

71-year-old man pulled over for cell phone use says NYPD cops shoved, cuffed him for no reason

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/man-pulled-cell-phone-shoved-cuffed-cops-article-1.3600140?cid=bitly A grandfather pulled over in Brooklyn for talking on his cell phone says NYPD officers pushed him to the ground and cuffed him for no reason.

Samuel Zinger, 71, got cuts and bruises to his face and arm, allegedly during a confrontation with the cops at the intersection of 18th Ave. and 53rd St. in Borough Park around 8 p.m.

Police say Zinger refused to get out of his car or give his ID after he was pulled over. They say minimal force was used, and he was released from the precinct after 20 minutes.

The case is being reviewed by the Brooklyn South investigation’s unit, police said.

Zinger declined to discuss the incident with the Daily News, but detailed his version of events to community leaders and elected officials – including City Councilman David Greenfield and Jack Meyer, president of the community burial organization Misaskim – who are now demanding an independent investigation into the arrest.

They say Zinger told them he was getting out his driver’s license and registration when one of the officers flashed a bright light in the car.

The Borough Park resident said he asked the unidentified officer to turn off the flashlight because it was bothering his eyes, according to version of events he shared.

Zinger told the community leaders that the officer became angry, and with another cop dragged him out of the car, shoved him to the wet ground, and arrested him.

Zinger was taken to the 70th Precinct, charged with a “disorderly conduct” violation and given a desk appearance ticket.

He then went to Maimonides Medical Center where he was treated and released.

Video of the incident posted on Yeshiva World News shows Zinger crying out in pain as an officer instructs him to “get your arm.”

“I can’t!” an agitated Zinger responds.

Disciplinary trial begins for van driver in Freddie Gray case

Zinger suffered a shoulder injury years ago that made it difficult for him to move his arm backwards while he was on the ground, Meyer said.

“When you are dealing with a 71-year-old man, a little common sense should prevail,” he said. “No police academy will train you to do this to a senior citizen.”

Greenfield said he saw an injured Zinger in the hospital.

“It’s disconcerting to see a 71-year-old grandfather sitting in the emergency room with bruises all over his face and body after his interaction with local police,” he said.

The officers should have realized that Zinger did not pose a risk to the cops, said Yidel Perlstein, chair of Community Board 12, which represents the area.

“Just looking at this Borough Parker, you can see that he is not a threat,” he said. “This could have been anybody grandfather. That why this is so disturbing.”

Andrea

10-31-2017, 11:03 AM

MSP trooper commits hit & run, then attempts cover-up; why wasn't he charged?

http://www.wxyz.com/news/local-news/investigations/msp-trooper-commits-hit-run-then-attempts-cover-up-why-wasnt-he-charged (http://www.wxyz.com/news/local-news/investigations/msp-trooper-commits-hit-run-then-attempts-cover-up-why-wasnt-he-charged)

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) - This is a story about a state trooper, a collision and a lie.

It begins at a parking lot off Evergreen Road in Southfield. While on duty last May, Trooper Kevin Klomparens had pulled into a Chipotle restaurant in his Michigan State Police vehicle. He was backing into a parking space when his SUV backed into a parked car.

The damage caused was minimal: scratches and a small dent that totaled a few hundred dollars in damage. But Trooper Klomparens didn’t notify the car’s owner, leave a note or report the accident. Instead, he pulled out of the space and left.

The driver of the damaged car turned out to be a 20-year-old college student who worked at a Southfield restaurant. She didn’t feel comfortable talking to us on-camera for this story, but said off-camera that she learned about the accident from two people who witnessed it. They told her, and then police.

According to police records, the two witnesses said that they’d heard “a loud crunch” and saw the trooper “commit a hit and run.”

Dispatch notified nearby officers that one of their own had been involved in an accident. Klomparens heard the message on his police radio, and that’s when he turned his small problem into a much bigger one.

Klomparens: I just got sideswiped by a car, I’m at 8 and Lahser. He flipped and headed back east on Westbound 8 Mile, I’m trying to catch up. I’m not entirely sure what kind of car it is, a grey sedan.

Dispatch: And he’s now Eastbound or Westbound on 8?

Klomparens: Eastbound. He hit a turnaround, I’m stopped at a traffic light when he hit my backend.

Klomparens said he was the victim of a crime and said he was in a police chase with the person responsible.

Dispatch: Did you get a plate?

Klomparens: Negative on a plate, he turned behind me, there was a Michigan u-turn behind me. He turned back and sped off eastbound.

In truth, there was no chase. No sideswipe. Klomparens made it all up.

“Unbelievable that this officer would respond in that manner,” said Willie Bell, who spent 32 years as a Detroit Police Officer. “You’re violating the confidence that people have in police officers in general.”

Today, Bell serves on the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners.

“It’s a simple accident, but now it lays to totally lack of confidence, not just in this officer, but police officers in general,” Bell said.

After the accident, MSP investigated and Trooper Klomparens admitted to making the story up. The case was forwarded to Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office for possible prosecution.

His office declined to charge the trooper with anything, writing in part that while “(w)e are certainly not condoning the actions of the trooper,” “there are better ways to handle this particular incident.”

We asked to speak with Attorney General Schuette on camera to understand why he chose not to bring charges. His office declined.

“The average citizen easily would have been charged in this case,” said Michael L. Steinberg, a criminal defense attorney who’s represented men and women accused of hit and run accidents.

“Providing false information to a police officer is usually going to get the attention of the prosecuting attorney’s office,” he said. “A police officer doesn’t get special status as far as the law goes.”

Klomparens won’t face charges, but he could still face discipline. He is still working at MSP today while internal affairs continues to investigate, more than five months since the accident happened. He declined comment for this story.

The owner of the damaged vehicle says state police promised to reimburse her the full cost of repairing her SUV. Months later, she’s still waiting.

Andrea

11-14-2017, 08:03 PM

Attorneys: Topeka seeks to limit access to shooting video

https://www.apnews.com/6152d151e6c2444f9f6326abb851560e (https://www.apnews.com/6152d151e6c2444f9f6326abb851560e)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The city of Topeka is trying to prevent the parents of a black man fatally shot by police from reviewing officers’ body camera footage by arguing that state law permits only his young children to see it, lawyers for the family said Monday.

Attorney Gillian Cassell-Stiga said the city agreed last week to allow Dominque White’s parents to view the footage from his Sept. 28 shooting by two officers near an east Topeka park. But Cassell-Stiga said the city later said that a 2016 state law limits a review of the footage to White’s four children, aged 3 to 13.

Cassell-Stiga said White’s family does not intend to have the children view the footage “anytime soon.” Family members have said they’ve been told little about the 30-year-old’s shooting, and no information about the officers has been released.

“It is so entirely ridiculous,” Cassell-Stiga said. “The position the city has decided to take is absurd and practically untenable.”

City spokeswoman Molly Hadfield said talks are ongoing between attorneys for both the family and the city of Topeka. She said the city’s position is based on the text of the law.

“Certain persons may request to view a body worn camera video prior to it being released to the public,” Hadfield said in an emailed statement.

The law enacted last year says the subjects of such footage or their attorneys can review it, as can the parents of a minor in such footage. When a person in the footage his died, that person’s heirs, or the administrators of his or her estate, can review the footage.

The law also treats body camera footage as a criminal investigation record, meaning law enforcement agencies don’t have to make it public without a court order.

Both the police departments in Topeka and Lawrence, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the east, declined to release the footage last week in response to an open-records request from The Associated Press. The Lawrence department has been investigating the shooting for Topeka police.

When state lawmakers discussed access to body camera footage last year, state Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City Democrat, pushed for a less restrictive law, though his proposal would not have made the recordings public. His version would have allowed White’s parents and their attorneys to view the footage; groups representing sheriffs, police chiefs and law enforcement officers supported the law that passed.

Haley said he intends to push for changes in the law next year. As for the situation facing White’s family, he said, “that’s another example of where the law doesn’t make sense or where it perverts the intent.”

White’s death occurred after police were called to the park area by a report of gunshots. White was just months out of prison; he had pleaded guilty to a burglary charge in 2015 and no contest to an illegal gun possession charge in 2016. Topeka police initially said he struggled with officers, reached for a gun in a pocket and was shot at least once in the chest.

But a death certificate listed “gunshot wounds of back” as the immediate cause of White’s death. And neither the Topeka nor Lawrence department compiled an incident report — with a front page that’s usually available within 72 hours — until last week, after The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that none existed.

“I cannot express the anguish we feel each day knowing that the officers who did this to our son continue to roam the street, and that we might come across them on any given day and simply not know,” White’s mother, Mary Theresa Wynne, said in a statement.

Andrea

11-18-2017, 06:38 AM

Man who recorded deputy punching suspect explains what he saw, heard

http://www.modbee.com/news/local/crime/article185317038.html (http://www.modbee.com/news/local/crime/article185317038.html)

The man who recorded a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department deputy repeatedly striking a suspect during an apprehension said he was surprised by what prompted the incident.

"I thought the guy did something way worse to get that kind of reaction,” said Porter Villar. "I thought he hurt a cop or did something to a cop ... I did not expect that type of (reaction) for something that minor."

Villar learned Thursday night when he read the Modesto Bee story about the incident that police were called to the area of Hatch Road and Crows Landing roads because the suspect was acting bizarrely and running into traffic.

The deputy, Taylor Knight, is now under criminal and administrative investigation for his actions.

Villar’s video was just one-minute long but he said it captured the brunt of what took place.

The Santa Cruz resident was in Modesto the night of the incident Nov. 10 because he was dropping off his girlfriend who was getting a ride from a friend up to Sacramento for a job, he said.

They all met at a shopping center in the northwest corner of the intersection. Villar’s girlfriend and her ride had just left and he was sitting in his car looking up directions back to Santa Cruz on his phone when he heard yelling and sirens and looked up to see the suspect on the left side of his vehicle.

"He was looking very agitated and disheveled,” Porter said.

He locked his door and ducked down, not knowing what the man’s intentions were.

"“It was me and him there for about 10 to 15 seconds.," he said. Then the first law enforcement officer showed up.

It’s unclear if it was a deputy or a Modesto Police officer. Three sheriff’s deputies, three Modesto police officers and a sergeant from each agency responded to the incident.

Villar said he saw the law enforcement officer point down and heard him tell the suspect to get on the ground.

"And then one after the other, two, three, four, five cops got there” and they tackled the suspect to the ground, he said.

From the time the suspect was taken to the ground, to the time Villar started recording, about 20 seconds had lapsed, he said.

"The worst happened in the video,” he said. "There was nothing that much outside of what I recorded."

In the video, Knight can be seen striking the suspect at least eight times in the head and back while other officers try to get the suspect's armed behind his back to handcuff him.

There is no audio in the video but Villar said he could hear law enforcement telling the suspect to stop resisting.

The suspect was in handcuffs shortly after the recording ended.

Villar said he asked an officer at the scene if everything was OK and the officer, in a dismissive tone, told him yes.

He said he would have given a statement but no one asked him for one and he has not been contacted by law enforcement since.

Sheriff Adam Christianson said his department, in partnership with Modesto Police Department, is conducting the criminal investigation and that detectives plan to interview both the law enforcement involved as well as civilian witnesses.

Andrea

11-18-2017, 10:16 AM

Feds: Philly officer sold drugs stolen by corrupt Baltimore police squad

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/feds-philly-officer-sold-drugs-stolen-by-corrupt-baltimore-police-squad-20171114.html (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/feds-philly-officer-sold-drugs-stolen-by-corrupt-baltimore-police-squad-20171114.html)

Federal agents arrested a Philadelphia police officer Tuesday, accusing him of conspiring with officers in Baltimore to sell cocaine and heroin seized from that city’s streets.

Prosecutors say that Eric Troy Snell, 33, earned thousands of dollars serving as a conduit between corrupt members of a Baltimore police task force who stole the drugs and his brother, who sold them in Philadelphia.

Investigators also have accused Snell of threatening the children of a Baltimore officer who pleaded guilty in the case.

His arrest is the latest in a widening police corruption scandal that has rocked Maryland’s largest city, resulting in the arrests of eight members of an elite gun task force there who prosecutors have accused of robbing and extorting drug dealers for years.

A Philadelphia police spokesman said that Snell — a three-year veteran of the force who had been assigned to the department’s 35th District in Northwest Philadelphia — would be suspended for 30 days with intent to dismiss.

Snell began his police career in Baltimore before arriving in Philadelphia in 2014. It was at the police academy in Maryland that he met Jemell Rayam, a fellow officer and his primary contact with the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force.

The squad had been deployed to crack down on the proliferation of illegal guns in that city. But prosecutors now say that Rayam and several cohorts, including two commanding sergeants, used their positions to rob drug dealers and pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars uncovered while searching homes and cars of suspected criminals.

According to Snell’s indictment, the Philadelphia officer set up an October 2016 meeting between his brother, who is not named in court filings, and Rayam to arrange for the sale of cocaine seized by the task force.

After Snell’s brother sold the drugs, the officer allegedly deposited $1,000 in proceeds in Rayam’s bank account, keeping $1,000 for himself. Several similar transactions followed over the next two months, the indictment alleges.

Rayam, arrested along with six other officers in March, pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy last month.

But in recorded jailhouse phone conversations referenced in court filings, Snell allegedly pressured Rayam to keep his name out of the ongoing investigation.

“Snell told Rayam to ‘stand tall’ and said he would ‘keep an eye’ on Rayam’s kids, which Rayam perceived as a threat to harm Rayam’s children if Rayam told authorities about Snell’s illegal drug trafficking,” the indictment says.

Snell made his initial appearance Tuesday in federal court in Baltimore on drug conspiracy charges. It was not immediately clear whether he had retained a lawyer.

Andrea

11-24-2017, 07:12 PM

FDOC: Santa Rosa CI officer who fractured inmate's jaw charged with battery

http://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2017/11/24/fdoc-santa-rosa-ci-officer-who-fractured-inmates-jaw-charged-battery/893161001/ (http://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2017/11/24/fdoc-santa-rosa-ci-officer-who-fractured-inmates-jaw-charged-battery/893161001/)

A Santa Rosa Correctional Institution officer has been charged for allegedly using excessive force and fracturing an inmate's jaw and then lying to investigators about the incident.

Quintavia J. Walker faces one count each of battery on an inmate and submitting inaccurate information on a use of force report, according to a Florida Department of Corrections news release.

Walker's arresting document states the prison's surveillance footage tells a different story than the one Walker told authorities about the incident on May 22.

Walker told investigators an inmate "cussed him out" about getting salt and pepper and then tried to jerk away from Walker's hold before the incident. Walker said when the inmate tried to pull away a second time, he used a "simple take-down" to get the inmate to the ground, and he denied using excessive force.

But prison footage shows the inmate was handcuffed and being escorted across his wing when Walker reached across and grabbed the back of the inmate's neck and then threw him to the concrete floor, according to the report.

The inmate was unable to break his fall because he was handcuffed from behind, and he suffered an oral maxillofacial fracture.

The inmate's name is redacted from the arresting document.

The report states it appears the inmate was walking in the same direction as he was being led, and was actively walking just before he was thrown to the ground.

The FDOC release states Walker was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail after his arrest Tuesday, but jail records do not show Walker's booking information.

Andrea

11-28-2017, 02:18 PM

Cops pay up and quit over a $100G lie about Brooklyn man's alleged gun possession

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/cops-pay-quit-100g-lie-alleged-gun-possession-article-1.3661408 (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/cops-pay-quit-100g-lie-alleged-gun-possession-article-1.3661408)

A Brooklyn man who filed a federal lawsuit against the NYPD for framing him on a gun charge has settled his case for $100,000 — with the two cops who arrested him on the hook for some of the dough.

Raul Glasgow, now 45, was pulled over in November 2012 in East Flatbush for driving with a forged license — and cops also claimed they found a .45-caliber pistol in the trunk of his car during a search at the 67th Precinct.

But Glasgow insisted the cops set him up. They promised not to impound his car if he had any information about guns or drugs, he said at the time.

Glasgow offered to give them the .45 that he had in his apartment — a gun left with him by a friend.

Brooklyn cop probed for allegedly planting gun in man's trunk

He called his wife and told her to give cops the weapon when they got to his home.

But then the cops charged him with gun possession, he said.

Arresting Officer John Bonanno in a sworn criminal complaint said the gun was found in the trunk of Glasgow’s car during a search at the 67th Precinct.

But that wasn’t true.

The charges against Glasgow were dropped the following summer, with Assistant District Attorney Vincent Bocchetti saying in the court that the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau “has revealed information that calls into question the veracity of [Bonanno’s] sworn statements as they related to this case.”

Raul Glasgow offered to give police the .45 caliber Kahr pistol that he had in his apartment — a gun left with him by a friend. He called his wife and told her to give cops the weapon when they got to his home. But then the cops charged him with gun possession, he said.

Glasgow, who runs a computer repair company, and his wife, Patrina Carter, filed a federal lawsuit naming Bonanno and several other cops, including Sgt. Gary Rich, the supervisor who signed off on the arrest.

IAB later slapped Bonanno and Rich with departmental charges, but the NYPD said that it never got a chance to bring them to trial.

Rich, an 11-year veteran, quit the force on Sept. 28. Bonanno, a cop since January 2009, did the same last Wednesday,

Glasgow, now 45, was behind bars for 20 days before he made bail.

Under terms of the settlement, Glasgow will get $100,000 -- $95,000 from city coffers, $3,500 from Rich and $1,500 from Bonanno.

Bonanno couldn’t be reached for comment, and a man who answered the door at Rich’s Long Island home saw a reporter’s press pass, shook his head and quickly shut the door.

The city foots the entire bill in settlements and judgments in virtually every case, making the occasional exception when it feels the behavior of the accused officer is egregious and in clear violation of department policy.

Andrea

12-02-2017, 09:31 AM

Another Police Brutality Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against the Euclid Police Department: VIDEO

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2017/11/30/another-police-brutality-lawsuit-has-been-filed-against-the-euclid-police-department-video (https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2017/11/30/another-police-brutality-lawsuit-has-been-filed-against-the-euclid-police-department-video)

Lamar Wright is accusing two Euclid police officers of forcibly arresting him last year and "maliciously" filing false charges against him. He filed a lawsuit against the officers and the department today.

Read the lawsuit and watch video of the arrest below.

According to the civil complaint, Wright pulled into a driveway on East 212th Street "to safely use his cell phone" on Nov. 4, 2016. Two armed men approached his vehicle, and, realizing they were police officers, Wright placed his car in park and held his hands up.

Officer Kyle Flagg's gun "was raised and pointed toward Wright," as he stood next to the driver's door. Office Vashon Williams stood behind Flagg, his gun raised as well.

Flagg ordered Wright out of the car. Before the man could exit the vehicle, Flagg grabbed Wright's left arm.

According to the lawsuit: "Flagg yanked on Wright’s left arm. Wright was still seated in the car at this time, and had staples in his stomach and a new colostomy bag. This, in combination with Flagg yanking on his left arm, prevented Wright from extending his right arm toward Flagg. ... Flagg’s conduct caused Wright extreme pain. Wright cried out to Flagg several times that he was hurting his arm, but Flagg ignored him."

The officers then tased and pepper-sprayed Wright, before he had a chance to explain the colostomy bag and pain.

Wright argues that each officer "had the duty and opportunity to intervene to protect Wright, and to prevent the unconstitutional use of force against Wright. Neither Flagg nor Williams did anything to prevent this unlawful attack."

Despite the sudden abdominal pain, the officers forced Wright onto the ground and handcuffed him. "I got a shit bag!" he says to the officers between sputtering coughs on the ground.

As he was arrested, the officers talked between themselves. The interaction is captured on body cam footage, embedded below.

"Dude, I thought he had a gun," Flagg says.

"He started reaching," Williams says.

"Why the fuck are you reaching like that?" Flagg asks Wright.

"I told you I got a bag!"

"No, dude, you were reaching with your right hand."

"I got a bag!"

"What's a bag?" Williams asks.

"A shit bag, man!"

"OK, but what are you doing reaching for it?" Williams asks.

"I don't know if you're getting ready to shoot me or what, man," Flagg says.

Wright was charged with obstructing official business, resisting arrest,
and criminal trespass. He was taken to a hospital, where, he says, the officers "mocked" him for his pain. Later, Wright was jailed. He paid "nearly $900" in bond, according to the suit.

"However, after posting bond, Wright was not released from custody. Instead, his detention was extended without lawful justification. He was transported to the Cuyahoga County Jail, where he was subjected to a search via a full-body x-ray scanner. ... Only after this scanning was complete, approximately four to five hours after bond had been posted, was Wright finally permitted to walk free," he states in his lawsuit.

Wright mentions that he also had to pay a $1,000 fee for the pepper spray stains on his rental car, which was impounded. "The rental company placed Wright on a 'Do Not Rent' list, and refuses to do future business with him," the lawsuit states.

Charges against Wright were dismissed in June 2017.

“I filed this case to stand up against police brutality, and to stand with other victims of senseless attacks by officers from the Euclid Police Department. These officers’ illegal treatment of people in the city must stop,” Wright said in a public statement. “We need justice for all the victims of the EPD."

Since Wright's arrest last year, two high profile incidents have focused the spotlight on Euclid Police Department's personnel. The shooting death of Luke Stewart was swept under the civic rug for months before the state announced that no charge would be filed against officer Matthew Rhodes. Stewart's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The violent arrest during the traffic stop of Richard Hubbard III resulted in the firing of officer Michael Amiott.

Not for nothing, on Nov. 20, chief Scott Meyer announced that the Euclid Police Department had been awarded the AAA Platinum Award for community traffic safety.

Andrea

12-11-2017, 12:02 AM

Graphic video shows Daniel Shaver sobbing and begging officer for his life before 2016 shooting

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/12/08/graphic-video-shows-daniel-shaver-sobbing-and-begging-officer-for-his-life-before-2016-shooting/?tid=sm_fb&utm_term=.9ef608c19d35 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/12/08/graphic-video-shows-daniel-shaver-sobbing-and-begging-officer-for-his-life-before-2016-shooting/?tid=sm_fb&utm_term=.9ef608c19d35)

After the officer involved was acquitted of second-degree murder charges, officials in Arizona publicly released graphic video showing Daniel Shaver crawling on his hands and knees and begging for his life in the moments before he was shot and killed by police in January 2016.

Shaver died in one of at least 963 fatal police shootings in 2016, according to a Washington Post database. And his death was one of an increasing number of such shootings to prompt criminal charges in the years since the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Mo., following the death of Michael Brown. Yet charges remain rare, and convictions even more so.

The shooting, by Philip “Mitch” Brailsford, then an officer with the Mesa Police Department, occurred after officers responded to a call about a man allegedly pointing a rifle out of a fifth-floor window at a La Quinta Inn. Inside the room, Shaver, 26, had been doing rum shots with a woman he had met earlier that day and showing off a pellet gun he used in his job in pest control.

The graphic video, recorded by Brailsford’s body camera, shows Shaver and the woman exiting the hotel room and immediately complying with commands from multiple officers. The video was shown in court during the trial, but it was released to the public after jurors acquitted Brailsford on Thursday.

After entering the hallway, Shaver immediately puts his hands in the air and lies down on the ground while informing the officer that no one else was in the hotel room.

“If you make a mistake, another mistake, there is a very severe possibility that you’re both going to get shot. Do you understand?” Sgt. Charles Langley yells before telling Shaver to “shut up.”

“I’m not here to be tactical and diplomatic with you. You listen. You obey,” the officer says.

For the next five minutes, officers give Shaver instructions. First, an officer tells Shaver to put both of his hands on top of his head, then he instructs him to cross his left foot over his right foot.

“If you move, we’re going to consider that a threat and we are going to deal with it and you may not survive it,” Langley said.

The officer then has the woman crawl down the hallway, where she is taken into custody. Shaver remains on the ground in the hallway, his hands on his head.

Langley tells Shaver to keep his legs crossed and push himself up into a kneeling position. As Shaver pushes himself up, his legs come uncrossed, prompting the officer to scream at him.

“I’m sorry,” Shaver says, placing his hands near his waist, prompting another round of screaming.

“You do that again, we’re shooting you, do you understand?” Langley yells.

“Please do not shoot me,” Shaver begs, his hands up straight in the air.

At the officer’s command, Shaver then crawls down the hallway, sobbing. At one point, he reaches back — possibly to pull up his shorts — and Brailsford opens fire, striking Shaver five times.

According to the police report, Brailsford was carrying an AR-15 rifle with the phrase “You’re F—ed” etched into the weapon. The police report also said the “shots were fired so rapidly that in watching the video at regular speed, one cannot count them.”

Brailsford testified in court that he believed Shaver was reaching for a gun.

“If this situation happened exactly as it did that time, I would have done the same thing,” Brailsford said during the trial. “I believed 100 percent that he was reaching for a gun.”

No gun was found on Shaver’s body. Two pellet rifles used in Shaver’s pest-control job were later found in the hotel room.

After two days of deliberation, jurors found Brailsford not guilty of second-degree murder as well as of a lesser charge of reckless manslaughter.

“The justice system miserably failed Daniel (Shaver) and his family,” said Mark Geragos, an attorney for Shaver’s widow, according to the Arizona Republic.

Attorneys for the officer had petitioned to keep the video from being released, and a judge agreed to block its release to the public until after the trial had concluded.

Brailsford’s attorney, Mike Piccarreta, told The Post in a previous interview that he thinks the body camera footage clears his client.

“It demonstrates that the officer had to make a split-second decision when [Shaver] moved his hands toward the small of his back after being advised that if he did, he’d be shot,” Piccarreta told The Post in 2016.

Piccarreta also said he wasn’t sure his client would be interested in trying to get his police job back.

Shaver’s widow and parents have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the city of Mesa.

Andrea

12-11-2017, 12:09 PM

New York Police Rejecting More of Watchdog’s Findings, Report Says

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/nyregion/nypd-ccrb-rejection-report.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/nyregion/nypd-ccrb-rejection-report.html)

In New York City, the relationship between the Police Department and the Civilian Complaint Review Board is inherently contentious, a panel of outsiders serving as a watchdog over a formidable law enforcement agency that is fiercely protective of its image.

A new report by the board suggests that its relations with the department have become particularly strained, even as the board has sought in recent years to find a measure of common ground on disciplining officers for misconduct.

Last year, the Police Department contested more of the board’s recommendations in cases where board investigators found evidence to support allegations of abuse or misconduct, which in turn significantly lengthened the time before a final decision by the police commissioner.

In response, the board began more strictly enforcing a time limit on the challenges received more than 90 days after the initial decision. But the board’s recommendations are not binding on the commissioner, James P. O’Neill, and in more than than half of the board’s cases that he took final action on between January and June, he set aside or modified the conclusions, reversing a trend over the previous two years when the board and the police commissioner were increasingly in accord.

The report, to be released on Wednesday, is the first to look at how Commissioner O’Neill, who succeeded William J. Bratton in September 2016, has treated the review board’s findings and recommendations. Overall, Commissioner O’Neill imposed discipline on about three-quarters of the 251 officers for whom the review board had recommended punishment in the first six months of this year, a decline from 2016.

In a significant uptick, he rejected 27 percent of the review board’s findings in the first six months of 2017, compared to 17 percent in the same period last year, and he modified the board’s recommendations in 25 percent, up from 21 percent.

Christopher Dunn, the associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the numbers showed the Police Department was “marginalizing” the review board. “When the N.Y.P.D. rejects over half of C.C.R.B. recommendations, that sends an emphatic message to the public and to police officers that the C.C.R.B. just doesn’t matter,” he said.

The report highlights another source of tension between the board and the department — body cameras, which the department began using this year as part of a court-ordered pilot program.

Even with only about 1,200 of the department’s 36,000 officers using body cameras, the review board has struggled to promptly secure footage for its inquiries. It requested video from the Police Department in three cases earlier this year, and the department took nearly three weeks to provide it, according to the report

The mayor has promoted body cameras as a way to curb excessive force complaints and increase police accountability and transparency. But in a statement, Jonathan Darche, the executive director of the review board, echoed concerns in the report that the delays in obtaining footage would grow longer as the program expanded, hampering investigations.

“The City of New York is moving toward a future in which video evidence will offer our investigators more definitive accounts of incidents,” Mr. Darche said. “It is critical for the timely completion of investigations that the C.C.R.B. gains access to body-worn camera footage in a fast and efficient manner as we anticipate an increase in the volume of video evidence.”

Unlike police oversight agencies in cities such as Washington, D.C., the review board does not have direct access to police body camera video. Instead it must go through what has turned out to be an often lengthy process to obtain video from the department.

*Anya*

12-11-2017, 07:14 PM

I can usually cut and paste VICE NEWS articles but it is not letting me today.

It is entitled "Shot by Cops and Forgotten: Police shoot far more people than anyone realized"

They reviewed stats from 2010 to 2016

https://news2-images.vice.com//uploads/2017/12/chart1_all-subjects.svg

https://news.vice.com/story/shot-by-cops

Andrea

12-14-2017, 06:56 AM

New Mexico Sheriff’s Office Pulls Over the Same Black Federal Agent — Three Times in a Month

https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/new-mexico-sheriffs-office-pulls-over-same-black (https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/new-mexico-sheriffs-office-pulls-over-same-black)

By the third time Sherese Crawford got pulled over, she knew it was no matter of coincidence.

Crawford is a 38-year-old African-American Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent recently on temporary assignment in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As part of her work, she was regularly required to rent a car and drive a lonely stretch of I-40 to travel between the ICE field office in Albuquerque and Milan, New Mexico. Over the course of less than a month, she was pulled over three times by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office — twice by the same deputy.

In none of these stops was she given a warning or citation. Her only crime: driving while black.

The first of the three incidents occurred on April 5, when Deputy Leonard Armijo pulled Crawford over, claiming that he had searched a database for her license plate number and the license plate came back as not on file, indicating that the vehicle might be stolen. This is a highly unlikely claim given that Crawford was driving a rental car provided by ICE.

When Crawford asked him in utter confusion, “What did I do?” Deputy Armijo forced her to exit the vehicle and walk with him to his patrol unit, where he scolded her for “giving him an attitude.” After this incident, Ms. Crawford contacted an ICE supervisor in Albuquerque to complain about the pretextual traffic stop, and the ICE supervisor advised her that the sheriff’s deputy had likely stopped her because she fit a profile: an African-American in a rental car.

That profile got her stopped two more times on April 15 and May 3 by Bernalillo County Deputy Patrick Rael. In the April 15 stop, Deputy Rael pulled her over for allegedly tailgating. When he examined Crawford’s license, he recognized her name and asked her if they had pulled her over the week before. He said he remembered Crawford’s name because an ICE officer and sheriff’s deputy present at the first stop had said that she had an “attitude.” Two weeks later, Deputy Rael pulled over Crawford for a third time alleging she was driving “too slow.”

These three incidents taken together clearly show that the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office has an unconstitutional policy of racially profiling African-Americans. For context, white and Hispanic ACLU of New Mexico staff have been driving the same stretch of road in rental cars for years without incident. It is impossible to imagine that these three stops in close succession with no warning or citation were motivated by anything other than Crawford’s race, especially given that Bernalillo County is overwhelmingly white and Hispanic with only three percent of the population reporting as Black or African-American.

Last week, the ACLU of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office alleging that they unlawfully and repeatedly stopped Crawford, a veteran federal law enforcement agent, because of her race. Targeting people because of the color of their skin isn’t just unconstitutional and wrong, it’s bad policing. This kind of biased-based policing destroys public trust in law enforcement and divides communities, making it harder for officers to do their jobs.

As one of the most diverse and multicultural states in the country, racial discrimination has no place in New Mexico, especially not in one of our state’s largest law enforcement agencies. We’re fighting to ensure that anytime you see flashing lights behind you in our state, you can feel confident that it was your lead foot — not the color of your skin — that’s getting you pulled over.

*Anya*

12-14-2017, 09:42 PM

Ag60WGqT8a8

I can usually cut and paste VICE NEWS articles but it is not letting me today.

It is entitled "Shot by Cops and Forgotten: Police shoot far more people than anyone realized"

They reviewed stats from 2010 to 2016

https://news2-images.vice.com//uploads/2017/12/chart1_all-subjects.svg

https://news.vice.com/story/shot-by-cops

Andrea

12-23-2017, 10:11 AM

Texas boy, 6, killed in deputy-involved shooting days before Christmas

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-boy-age-6-killed-deputy-involved-shooting-days-christmas-n832166 (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-boy-age-6-killed-deputy-involved-shooting-days-christmas-n832166)

A 6-year-old Texas boy was killed just days before Christmas when sheriff’s deputies opened fire on a woman they had been chasing — and one of the bullets pierced the wall of a mobile home and struck the child in the abdomen.

The woman, a suspected car thief who had been trying to break into the home, was also killed in the shooting on Thursday in the Schertz, a small town some 20 miles northeast of San Antonio, NBC affiliate WOAI reported.

"Right now, what I’m dealing with is, is a tragic accident," Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference Friday, although he added the shooting is still under investigation and other authorities like the district attorney’s office would make a final determination.

"In my opinion, it's a tragic accident that led to the death of this young man," he said.

The boy, Kameron Prescott, was fatally shot as deputies chased the approximately 30-year-old suspect in a "prolonged pursuit" that was reported as a call of a stolen vehicle which involved a known suspect who had outstanding felony warrants, Salazar said.

During the first encounter a deputy “identified what he believed was a weapon in the hands of that suspect” and the woman at that time and later threatened deputies with a weapon “and verbalized to him that she intended to shoot him with that weapon” — although no gun has yet been found, Salazar said.

The suspect was not identified by police Friday. Salazar said investigators had found what appeared to be a pipe that had the suspect's blood on it underneath the deck where the shooting took place.

Salazar said the woman got "cornered" at the home in the Pecan Grove mobile home park and threatened Kameron's family as well as officers when they caught up with her. The slain boy and his family do not know the suspect, he said.

"Kameron was the kindest-hearted little boy that I have ever had the pleasure of teaching," the boy’s first-grade teacher, Shanda Ince, said in a statement released by the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District.

Four deputies fired at the woman, Salazar said. He did not identify the officers, but said they ranged in experience from two years to 27 years on the job and were all shaken by the experience. The deputies involved have been placed on five days of administrative leave, the sheriff's office said Friday.

Salazar said that civilian witnesses as well as the deputies said that the suspect had threatened to shoot them and indicated that she had a gun.

"At the time, we don't believe she was armed. She was presenting to be armed at various times throughout this prolonged pursuit," Salazar said earlier.

Salazar said that his office was still searching the area for a gun and was using a helicopter and dive team in the search. "That deputy is still adamant that what he saw was a handgun," Salazar said.

Salazar said there was good audio of the incident, but said his office did not have clear video of the shooting. A helicopter overhead caught the scene moments after, and the deputy who was had a body camera unintentionally obstructed its view when he raised and fired his rifle.

Salazar said internal affairs is investigating the matter, but said "preliminarily ... it appears as if policies were complied with." As of Friday evening, it was unclear when the sheriff's office would release the video, which Salazar said included video of officers administering first aid to the six-year-old boy.

The deadly drama began around 11 a.m., Salazar said, when a deputy responding to reports of a stolen car found the suspect hiding in a closet and she allegedly told them, "I have a weapon, I’m gonna shoot you."

Somehow, the woman was able to flee the residence into some nearby woods where the deputy lost her and called for backup, Salazar said. She was later spotted fording a river and the deputies chased after her in "water that was up to their chin."

Salazar said the deputies believed she was armed because she appeared to point a weapon at them during the foot chase.

Two relatives were in the mobile home with little Kameron when the fatal shots were fired, Salazar said. Neither was hurt.

"The grandfather of this young man, Kameron’s grandfather, is a friend of mine for the past 20 years," Salazar said. "He's a peace officer. I've actually spoken to him and conveyed messages to the family through him."

Andrea

12-23-2017, 10:20 AM

Chicago police raid targets wrong home: 'This is Christmastime. You kicked down my door.'

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-chicago-warrant-wrong-home-raid-20171222-story.html (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-chicago-warrant-wrong-home-raid-20171222-story.html)

Jennell Cross had just settled into a leather couch to watch a movie in her daughter’s South Chicago home when she heard one bang, then another against the front door.

Frightened — it was about midnight Thursday — Cross said she ran to the back of the home to warn her daughter. “Somebody’s trying to break in the house,” she yelled.

Shanae Cross said was trying to pull her mother into a restroom for safety when a swarm of cops barged into the house, guns drawn and shouting questions.

The officers moved through the bungalow and tried to handcuff Cross’ 17-year-old brother. The family demanded to see a warrant.

Finally, an officer called out the address on the no-knock search warrant.

It was for a different home on the block.

“Get ya’ll (expletive) and get out my house,” Cross said she told the cops.

An officer yelled, “Everyone out! Wrong house! Let’s go!” and the officers left, she said.

On Friday, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi acknowledged that officers “inadvertently breached the door of the incorrect residence.”

The department “deeply regrets the error,” he said.

Guglielmi said the claims process and repairs to the family’s damaged front door would be expedited.

While the Cross family was talking to a Tribune reporter, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson called to personally apologize. His call went to voicemail, and Cross just shook her head as she listened to it.

She was still angry Friday as she talked about the misguided raid.

“This is Christmastime,” she said. “You kicked down my door.”

Cross, 34, can’t figure out how the police made the mistake: “The number is there in front of the home,” she said.

She said she couldn’t sleep after things settled down early Friday morning. On Facebook, she posted, “Thank U Chicago PD For Kicking Down My Door... Now Im Up All Night Doing Security.” The message included a flashlight emoji.

The damaged front door in her South Chicago neighborhood, where “people are killed every day for nothing,” left her and her family feeling unsafe, she said. Her brother Michael, who the family said officers tried to handcuff, said he was “hurt” by the encounter.

“They drew the guns on us like we were criminals,” Michael Cross said.

“I was scared out my mind,” said Jennell Cross, 53. “This is crazy as hell.”

Andrea

12-24-2017, 09:03 AM

When Police Shoot a Man Who Was Stabbing Himself

https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police-practices/when-police-shoot-man-who-was-stabbing-himself (https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police-practices/when-police-shoot-man-who-was-stabbing-himself)

A suspect in an armed robbery is sitting alone in a police department’s interview room. He takes out a knife and begins cutting himself with it, including his neck.

You would think that the police would recognize this as a mental health crisis, a potential suicide, a situation that demands careful, nonviolent de-escalation techniques to keep everyone safe.

But on Dec. 18 in Minneapolis, officers took another approach, with disastrous results. They tried to use a Taser on 18-year-old Marcus Fischer and then they shot at him. At least one bullet hit and wounded him, leaving Marcus in critical condition.

That response to a suicide attempt is terrifying. By using force, the police made the situation so much more dangerous.

And it wasn’t a one-time occurrence. Of the 14 Minnesotans shot and killed by police officers last year, nearly half were reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis. That matches up with police data from around the country. Going through a mental health crisis puts you at higher risk for police violence.

Just this past summer, Khaleel Thompson was shot multiple times by an officer in Crystal, Minnesota. Khaleel had a history of mental illness that police in Crystal were aware of. Like Marcus, he was left in critical condition.

Marcus and Khaleel are both people of color, making them even more likely to be targets of police violence. Being Black or brown multiplies the risk for people with mental illness or disability.

Both the Minneapolis and Crystal police departments have policies that encourage de-escalation strategies designed to avoid physical confrontation unless immediately necessary. But the policies don’t cover the special considerations necessary when someone is engaging in self-harm.

It is a natural impulse to want to stop someone from hurting themselves. However, when police intervene, they too often rely on their weapons instead of empathy and negotiation. The Police Executive Research Forum recommends that departments prohibit the “use of deadly force against individuals who pose a danger only to themselves.”

In such scenarios, the forum advises police “to exercise considerable discretion to wait as long as necessary so that the situation can be resolved peacefully.” Minneapolis police officers spent less than 10 minutes trying to de-escalate the situation with Marcus.

The Minneapolis police department is certainly not the only one failing to respond safely to mental health crises — this is a problem across the country. In the past year, police have killed people experiencing mental health crises in California, New York, Oklahoma, and Washington, among other states.

Our police departments must overhaul their training and protocols. A one-day course in de-escalation — like the one prepared for the Minneapolis Police Department — isn’t enough to prepare officers for dealing with mental health crises.

Training officers on crisis intervention should not be left to individual departments. It must be a core part of the curriculum at all police academies. Right now, police academies spend, on average, 15 times more training time on firearms and defensive tactics than on conflict management and mediation. That needs to change. The curricula must be revamped in keeping with approaches like Crisis Intervention Training and Critical Decision Model-Making, which have helped police departments that implemented them properly.

We also have to accept the limits of de-escalation and mental health training for police officers. While these strategies can improve interactions, officers aren’t the most qualified people to respond to a mental health crisis. Along with improving officer training, we must also fund alternatives to using the police to respond to mental health emergencies, like mobile crisis units and other community-based crisis services. Increased access to mental health and crisis response resources would help reduce the number of people experiencing mental health crises in the first place. There is no reason to wait for another person in crisis to be shot.

*Anya*

12-26-2017, 12:47 PM

Part II

Forced out over sex, drugs and other infractions, fired officers find work in other departments

By Kimbriell Kelly, Wesley Lowery and Steven Rich December 22, 2017

Another officer Doucette hired was his nephew Eric P. Doucette Sr., who was fired by New Orleans police in 2005 for neglect of duty, records show. The chief said he followed ethics guidelines and did not directly supervise his nephew. Eric Doucette, 59, did not respond to requests for comment.

When Chief Doucette resigned from Delgado in 2014, college officials replaced him with another former New Orleans police officer: Julie Lea, a former lieutenant in internal affairs.

Julie Lea at an event in New Orleans on Aug. 17, 2014. (Josh Brasted)
Lea had resigned from New Orleans while under investigation for “neglect of duty” for failing to “properly supervise subordinates,” according to police records.

In preparation of a federal audit that was part of the ongoing Justice Department investigation, Lea was told to complete pending internal affairs cases, records show. Investigators said Lea, however, allowed one of her employees to retire with 18 cases pending. The department later sustained the administrative violations against Lea.

Lea, 44, told The Post that she was “never notified of an investigation.” By the time New Orleans internal affairs upheld the charges against her, she had been sworn in as chief at Delgado. Delgado officials said they were unaware that she was under investigation when she was hired.

One of Lea’s hires at Delgado was fired New Orleans officer Mario Cole, who lost his job in 2013 after 11 years with the department when he tested positive for opiates during a random drug test. Through Delgado police, Cole, 38, declined to comment.

“I’m sure I looked into it and found out what it was,” Lea said when asked whether she knew of Cole’s prior misconduct when she hired him in 2016. “But I don’t remember.”

In January 2017, after a little more than a year as Delgado’s chief, Lea was fired.

An internal investigation by the college concluded that she had misused state funds and compromised student safety by ordering two of her officers to guard the homes of relatives of a deceased police chief during his funeral.

“Most chiefs would never get fired for something like that,” Lea said.

She said that after she was fired, she applied for another job as a police chief but was not hired. She now runs a nonprofit entity that she founded to organize Mardi Gras parades and events.

In August, Delgado replaced Lea with yet another former New Orleans officer: Eddie Compass III.

Compass spent 26 years with New Orleans Police Department, ascending to superintendent. He resigned in 2005 amid widespread criticism of the department’s response to Hurricane Katrina.

In an interview, Compass, 59, said that all of Delgado’s hiring of New Orleans officers with troubled records predated his arrival. He said he has not had any problems with the officers but criticized the department’s prior hiring practices. He said Delgado will no longer hire officers who have been forced out of other departments.

“They never should have been hired,” he said. “But that’s something I can’t do anything about.”

Delgado’s police department has three openings.

Alice Crites contributed to this report.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/forced-out-over-sex-drugs-or-child-abuse-fired-officers-find-work-in-other-departments/2017/12/22/e0512774-d3a7-11e7-95bf-df7c19270879_story.html?utm_term=.2f3c3a4114ec&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

*Anya*

12-26-2017, 12:52 PM

Forced out over sex, drugs and other infractions, fired officers find work in other departments

By Kimbriell Kelly, Wesley Lowery and Steven Rich December 22, 2017

NEW ORLEANS — By the time the New Orleans Police Department fired Carey Dykes, the officer had been sued for alleged brutality, accused of having sex with a prostitute while on duty and caught sleeping in his patrol car instead of responding to a shooting.

The 13-year veteran fought to get his job back but lost.

Even so, he returned to patrol months later — working for a nearby police department.

Dykes is one of dozens of officers forced out of the New Orleans department over the past decade for misconduct who were given badges and guns by other departments, according to a Washington Post analysis of state and city employment records, police personnel files and court documents. At a time of increased scrutiny of police nationwide, the ease with which fired or forced out New Orleans officers found work at new departments underscores the broader challenge that law enforcement faces to rid itself of “bad apples.”

The New Orleans department has long been attempting to reform its ranks and shed a troubled past. In the past decade, the department has fired or otherwise pushed out at least 248 officers. Of those forced out, 53 have been hired by other police departments, according to information obtained through public records requests.

Many of those officers landed at smaller police departments in nearby parishes and colleges — some hired weeks or months after leaving New Orleans. While records show that some have had no complaints of misconduct since joining new departments, others have been fired again.

Records show that many of the 53 officers hired by other departments disclosed their troubled departures from New Orleans. About half of the 53 had been fired, and the rest resigned in lieu of being fired or quit while under investigation

Some of the 248 officers were fired or forced out in New Orleans after abandoning their posts in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the city. Others were fired or pushed out in the aftermath of a 2011 Department of Justice civil rights investigation. The federal review concluded that officers “routinely” used unnecessary force and conducted unlawful arrests, and that neither the public nor officers had faith in the department’s disciplinary process. City leaders instituted reforms demanded by Justice, adding to an exodus of officers.

Former New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said that sheriffs and other chiefs often justify rehiring officers by dismissing their problems as “political.” As a result, troubled officers remain in policing, he said.

“By the time you reach the point of terminating someone, that’s usually something that speaks to [the officer’s] ethics or ability to perform their job,” said Serpas, who led the New Orleans department from 2010 to 2014.

Louisiana is one of 44 states that require that officers be certified, or licensed. In some states, police chiefs pursue the decertification of officers they fire — to prevent them from being hired at other police departments.

But Louisiana has not decertified a single officer for misconduct in the past decade, records show. State officials said that local departments have failed to request decertifications. Local police officials said, however, that the process of decertifying an officer they no longer employ can be laborious and may not be worth the time.

Serpas said steps should be taken to make sure that officers are stripped of their state law enforcement certifications and that a national database of these officers should be created to help prevent them from returning to law enforcement.

“If you get terminated for untruthfulness or bribery or brutality, you really should not be allowed to be a police officer anywhere in the country,” Serpas said.

Sleeping, buying sex on duty
Police officer Carey Dykes arrived near the French Quarter just before dawn as fists were flying and fires were burning in the street. Soon, bottles were flung in his direction.

It was Feb. 16, 1999, and Dykes was quickly joined by a dozen other officers as the Mardi Gras party descended into chaos.

By the time it was over, police had jailed nearly 60 people. In the aftermath, Dykes, other officers and the city faced two federal lawsuits from people who alleged that they had been falsely arrested and were beaten by police. In the suits, witnesses said they saw Dykes and another officer “brutally beat” a man with nightsticks.

The city settled the two cases for a combined $60,850. In 2001, Dykes and the city were sued again: A pregnant woman said she was assaulted by Dykes as he tried to arrest her and her then-husband outside a French Quarter strip club.

“That cop, Dykes, came up to me before I could get all the way up off the ground and slammed me back down on the ground with my face in the ground and kept saying, ‘Keep still. Don’t move. Don’t move,’ ” the woman, Chantal Jarrell, now 45, said in an interview.

The city and the officers generally denied the allegations, but settled her suit for $400.

Records show that during the next decade, Dykes was suspended three times for violating department policies, including failing to follow instructions and filing incomplete reports.

Then, in July 2010, a woman told police officials that an officer was paying women for sex. She told internal affairs investigators that the officer — whom she identified as Dykes from a photo lineup — spent some of his nightly shifts cruising the streets “picking up working girls.” She complained that she had sex with him but was never paid.

The woman, who was not identified in the investigative reports, said Dykes picked her up in his squad car on July 4 and took her to the London Lodge, a nearby motel.

She said that she took a shower and emerged to see Dykes naked. The two then had vaginal and oral sex without a condom, she said.

Motel records showed that Dykes rented a $45 room, checking in with his driver’s license at 2:50 a.m. — in the middle of his patrol shift.

Investigators set up a sting.

Over several days, police recorded the woman speaking with Dykes on the phone while he was on duty. In one recording, the woman said she had a bacterial infection when they allegedly had unprotected sex and told him that he might pass it on to his wife.

Dykes said he was not worried about a bacterial infection. “Only STD will affect me,” he told her.

On the sting’s fifth night, investigators watched Dykes park his squad car at the London Lodge at 3:35 a.m. Almost an hour later, a 911 call came in from nearby: Two men had wrecked a Chevy Tahoe and fled on foot armed with assault rifles.

A dispatcher radioed Dykes to respond to the call but got no answer from him.

Ten minutes after the initial 911 call, the neighborhood erupted in gunfire, prompting five additional calls to 911.

Dykes’s white marked patrol car did not move, records show. Concerned, one of the officers watching Dykes approached his police cruiser: Dykes was inside asleep. The surveillance officer snapped a photo.

At 5:15 a.m. Dykes drove off and later wrote in his activity report that he had responded to the shooting.

The internal affairs investigation found that Dykes had violated department rules 17 times, including not devoting his entire shift to his police duty, transporting a civilian in his work vehicle, dishonesty and failing to respond to a dispatcher.

Dykes initially denied many of the allegations and said he did not have intercourse with the woman. When confronted with the findings of the surveillance, he admitted to having oral sex with the woman at the motel and failing to respond to the shooting.

Three months later, in February 2011, Dykes was fired. He appealed, but an arbitrator upheld his dismissal.

When reached by phone, Dykes, 44, said of his firing: “It happened over seven years ago. I’m not worried about it.” He declined to answer questions or comment further.

Months after he was fired, Dykes applied for a police job at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, records show.

Andrea

12-29-2017, 07:25 PM

Unarmed man killed by police after ‘swatting’ prank in Kansas

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/12/29/unarmed-man-killed-police-after-swatting-prank-kansas/991665001/ (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/12/29/unarmed-man-killed-police-after-swatting-prank-kansas/991665001/)

An innocent man was shot and killed by police Thursday after a "swatting" prank led authorities to a home in Kansas, officials say.

A feud between two Call of Duty game players sparked the hoax call. However, the address given to police led them to the doorstep of 28-year-old Andrew Finch, who was not part of the online gaming community, police say.

"Due to the actions of a prankster, we have an innocent victim," Wichita police Deputy Chief Troy Livingston said during a press conference Friday.

Officers responded to a report of a gunman holding his mother, brother and sister hostage after shooting his father in the head Thursday night, Livingston said.

"That was the information we were working off of," he told the Wichita Eagle.

Livingston added that authorities "got into position" when they arrived at the home, ready for a hostage situation.

The 28-year-old, identified by his family as Andrew Finch, went to the door to see what was going on, the Eagle reported.

"As he came to the door, one of our officers discharged his weapon," Livingston said.

Officers had instructed Finch to put his hands up, but he lowered them several times, Livingston said. One officer then took a shot because he "feared for officer's safety," Livingston said.

The father of two was taken to a hospital. He later died.

Police said he was unarmed.

A frame grab from the Wichita Police Department's release Friday, Dec. 29, 2017, of some body cam footage of the fatal shooting of Andrew Finch, 29, by a Wichita police officer Thursday night. Online gamers have said in multiple Twitter posts that the shooting of a man Thursday night by Wichita police was the result of a "swatting" hoax involving two gamers. (Photo: Fernando Salazar, AP)

Officers soon learned that no one in the house had a gunshot wound and that there wasn’t a hostage situation.

"What gives the cops the right to open fire?" Finch's mother asked the Wichita Eagle. “Why didn’t they give him the same warning they gave us? That cop murdered my son over a false report.”

More than a dozen gamers told the Eagle that a feud between two Call of Duty players sparked the swatting call.

The gamers were arguing when one threatened to target the other. The intended target gave the other gamer a "fake" address, according to Twitter posts.

"We believe this case is an act of swatting," Livingston confirmed Friday.

Several social media users placed blame on one gamer, who tweeted about the incident.

"I DIDNT GET ANYONE KILLED BECAUSE I DIDNT DISCHARGE A WEAPON AND BEING A SWAT MEMBER ISNT MY PROFESSION," the gamer tweeted. The account was suspended overnight.

Finch's family believes whoever made the call should be held accountable.

"The person who made the phone call took my nephew, her son, two kids’ father," the victim’s aunt, Lorrie Hernandez-Caballero told the Wichita Eagle. "How does it feel to be a murderer? I can’t believe people do this on purpose."

Swatting is a prank where someone calls authorities to report a fake emergency — often a hostage situation or active shooter — with the intent of drawing a "SWAT team" response to a location.

The dangerous prank has become popular nationwide among gamers, who use caller ID spoofing or other techniques to disguise their phone numbers, according to 911.gov.

"Without that false phone call we wouldn't have been there," Livingston said.

The officer who shot and killed Finch was identified as a veteran of more than 7 years with the police department. He was be placed on administrative paid leave pending investigation.

No arrests have been made so far.

Andrea

01-23-2018, 08:02 AM

Dead, beaten and abused: Millions paid in secret settlements to keep bad cops on the street and the public in danger

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/watchdog/shield/2018/01/22/nj-police-brutality-cases-secret-settlements/109479668/ (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/watchdog/shield/2018/01/22/nj-police-brutality-cases-secret-settlements/109479668/)

Piercing the shield

New Jersey governments across the state, from the smallest towns to some of the largest cities, have spent more than $42 million this decade to cover-up deaths, physical abuses and sexual misconduct at the hands of bad cops.

The abuse of police power has left a staggering toll: at least 19 dead; 131 injured; 7 sexual misconducts, plus dozens of other offenses ranging from false arrest to harassment, a two-year investigation by the Asbury Park Press found.

The damage is concealed by government officials who use a veil of secret settlements and nondisclosure agreements to silence victims. Investigations of rogue cops are routinely hidden from the public by police, elected officials and even the courts.

The secretive payouts that keep abuses quiet are a vital part of a system that enables bad cops to do their worst. The secrecy starts at the police department and rises through the highest levels of government. Some of the state's largest cities and insurance carriers refused to release government documents that are at the core of the rogue cop problem.

But the tens of millions of dollars paid to settle hundreds of legal claims are not the worst part.

Many of the bad cops remain on the street.

The Press investigation found that several towns knew of their bad cops' propensity towards violence yet ignored multiple warning signs until the cops crossed the line by injuring or killing innocent people.

In February 2016, Khan was arrested on charges of punching his brother-in-law in the face, causing “serious facial injuries and a possible fractured” eye socket and jaw, and threatening to shoot him, a police report stated.

Khan brushed off the criminal charges as a grand jury dismissed the claims. His only punishment: a 40-day police department suspension. After that, the officer returned to the streets, armed with a weapon and the full force of the law.

Khan’s suspension didn't prevent more violence. During a car chase that could have been a scene from an action movie, Khan shot at a suspect fleeing in a vehicle and then pursued the car through the streets of Jersey City, according to criminal charges filed against him.

The June 4, 2017, chase ended tragically for Miguel Feliz, 28, an innocent victim caught in the mayhem.

The father of a 6-year-old was driving home from his Peapod grocery delivery job when the suspect ran Feliz's aging Toyota off the road. The car burst into flames after slamming into a utility pole.

With his clothing on fire and choking on the acrid smoke, Feliz needed help from the police.

He got Khan.

Khan and another officer kicked Feliz as he laid burning on the ground. Feliz was struck in the face, a cellphone video shot by a passerby showed. Months later, both officers were indicted on aggravated assault charges. The officers have pleaded not guilty.

“I thought they were there to help,” Feliz said weeks after the incident, healing from four broken ribs – inflicted by police, he says – and multiple burns.

"But obviously not."

Miguel Feliz struggled to extinguish his burning flesh after a car crash in Jersey City June 4, 2017. He needed help from the police. Instead he was kicked. Andrew Ford

In another state, Khan's first arrest would likely have been his last day as a police officer. In Florida, conduct involving an assault can cost a police officer’s license to enforce the law, even if they're not criminally prosecuted.

But not in New Jersey.

From internal affairs to the courthouse, a weave of secret investigations, quiet payouts, nondisclosure agreements and court-enforced silence ends up keeping horrendous conduct and multi-million-dollar payouts away from public scrutiny.

Rogue cops are a fraction of the 33,000 officers who protect the public each day. But bad cops remain on the street because of one number: 466. That is the number of municipal police departments in the state, most with 23 or fewer officers, and some employing multiple family members.

Each of the 466 departments has a unique political culture and an internal affairs system that is rarely overseen by outsiders – unless the police chief believes an officer might have committed a crime.

New Jersey is one of six states that doesn’t officially license police officers or have a method to ban bad cops, much the way the government can disbar wayward lawyers or pull the licenses of intoxicated truck drivers. The other states without a police licensing revocation law are New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California and Hawaii.

Of at least 64,353 internal affairs complaints filed since 2011, less than one half of 1 percent – 226 – resulted in an officer being charged with a crime, the Press found. Of those defendants, 90 were convicted.

"There's just people out there that don't belong on the job. Fortunately, the numbers are few," said former Burlington Township police director Walter J. Corter, who also served as head of investigations for the Burlington County prosecutor's office.

To expose the problems with New Jersey's system for police accountability, the Press reviewed more than 30,000 pages of court, police and legal documents, settlements and once-secret separation agreements obtained by the Press, and interviewed dozens of victims, experts, lawyers and police officers.

The team found holes, conflicts and inconsistencies in police oversight that empowered problem cops in some departments to escalate their behavior until it became criminal, even deadly.

Consider:

A cop with domestic dispute history kills his ex-wife — Neptune Police Sgt. Philip Seidle has an internal affairs record that tops 600 pages and spans two decades, with several complaints known to involve domestic disputes between him and his wife. He was considered enough of a risk to the public that his service weapon was taken from him, but he was later rearmed. He used that gun to fatally shoot his ex-wife in 2015 in the middle of an Asbury Park street, in front of their 7-year-old daughter. He's serving a 30-year prison sentence.

A well-known violent cop beats a suspect on camera — Bloomfield police officer Orlando Trinidad was known in the department for using force to subdue suspects, accounting for nearly a third of the so-called “use-of-force” police reports in the 120-member department. After nearly ripping the ear off a handcuffed suspect inside the police station in 2013, a lawsuit claims, Trinidad then looked directly into the surveillance camera to seemingly mock the ensuing internal affairs review by saying, “IA.” The suit settled for $364,000 without any admission of fault. He was sentenced to five years in prison for lying on a police report in a separate incident.

A lack of oversight — Now-retired Bordentown Township Police Chief Frank Nucera Jr. was charged by federal agents in November 2017 with assaulting a black man and repeatedly making violent and racist remarks. The need for outside intervention by the FBI underscores the limited oversight of New Jersey's hundreds of police chiefs. His lawyer didn't return a message seeking comment. Nucera retired in January 2017, after the alleged assault but before the indictment. He is awaiting trial. Upon leaving, Nucera was paid $54,002, including compensation for unused sick and vacation days.

Repeated beatings claims, department inaction — Alleged beatings by Atlantic City police officer Andrew Jaques prompted at least two lawsuits. The city refused to provide the Press with the settlement amounts. But the case raised the ire of a federal judge in one decision who called Jaques "short-fused" and "volatile." He retired on disability in August, at an annual salary of $101,620, the Press found. Another city officer, Sterling Wheaten, has been the subject of at least 15 internal affairs complaints and the city paying $4.5 million to settle five lawsuits, according to media reports. No admission of wrongdoing was made in the settlements and Wheaten remains on the force at a salary of $108,548.

The $1.8 million cop — Battling a problem cop can be extraordinarily expensive. Taxpayers spent at least $1.8 million in a 9-year effort to fire Manuel Avila, a Paterson patrolman with a history of mental health trouble accused of sexual assault but acquitted at trial. Although not convicted of being a violent cop, the city put Avila on paid suspension that ultimately cost at least $940,000. The city also agreed to a $710,000 settlement with the woman, plus at least $92,000 in legal fees. In a settlement with the officer, the city agreed to dismiss disciplinary charges against Avila if he decided to resign. The agreement allowed him to collect $85,134 for unused sick and vacation time. He is now trying to get a $72,000 annual pension, which would include credit for six years while he was suspended.

In the Atlantic City case involving the “short-fused” Jaques, the Press found in court documents that Jaques was investigated by his uncle. Jaques remained on the force for another 10 years, leading to more lawsuits from civilians.

The quality of internal affairs reviews meant to root out rogue cops “comes down to one person — whoever is doing the investigation,” said Rich Rivera, a former West New York police officer.

For the last 20 years, Rivera has reviewed internal affairs investigations, police use-of-force reports in lawsuits and consulted with police departments. “Because the entire process is secret, we typically don’t know what the contents of the investigation were, and whether they were properly done or not,” he said.

While on the police force in the mid-1990s, Rivera worked undercover with the FBI to help put corrupt cops from his department in jail.

Internal affairs reports frequently show inadequate investigations and conclusions, Rivera said of the more than 900 IA files he has reviewed. Common problems included police investigators: failing to interview eyewitnesses; ruling a complaint “unfounded” if the investigator was unable to reach the victim; and failing to interview more than one officer, even if there were several at the scene.

“We don’t see too many consequences for bad police officers,” Rivera said. “The consequences are (for) those in the community – people being harmed, people being falsely accused of crimes, people being sent to prison who might not have been sent to prison if IA was working properly.”

Claims of abuses affected departments regardless of size, the Press’ investigation found. For example, the tiny borough of Absecon in Atlantic County, population 8,300, paid $2 million to settle a 2012 wrongful death case while Newark, population 280,000, settled a bodily injury case for $2 million.

Patrick Colligan, president of the state Police Benevolent Association that represents nearly all 33,000 police officers in the state, said he doesn’t dispute there were problem officers in the past, but today, with many cops being watched with cameras mounted on patrol cars or worn by officers, there is a constant oversight.

However, not all departments – until recently including Jersey City – use such monitoring devices.

Sub-standard police officers leave the force “close to every day in this state,” Colligan said. “Many you don't hear about, and it shows the departments are doing what they should be doing. … In 2017, there's nobody tolerating illicit or illegal activity.”

Andrea: Please click link for rest of article and graphics

Andrea

01-24-2018, 09:03 PM

Dashcam Video Shows ‘Senseless’ Killing Of Iranian-American By Federal Cops, Lawyers Say

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dashcam-video-killing-iranian-american-federal-cops-lawyers_us_5a68b04be4b0e5630075969d?ncid=inblnkush pmg00000009 (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dashcam-video-killing-iranian-american-federal-cops-lawyers_us_5a68b04be4b0e5630075969d?ncid=inblnkush pmg00000009)

WASHINGTON ― U.S. Park Police shot and killed an unarmed American man of Iranian descent in Fairfax County, Virginia, last November. In the months since the incident, the federal government hasn’t offered any explanation as to what led unnamed federal law enforcement officers to shoot and kill 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar. But local authorities on Wednesday released a disturbing dashcam video that sheds new light on the shooting and could put pressure on the federal government to bring charges against the agents involved.

The dashcam video shows the fatal encounter that was a culmination of a police chase of Ghaisar’s Jeep. An unidentified federal officer hops out of the passenger seat of his police vehicle and points his gun at Ghaisar’s stopped vehicle. As the officer stands near the driver’s side of the Jeep pointing his weapon, the car slowly moves forward. The officer fires once. He fires four more times. His partner comes up behind him. More shots are fired, and the vehicle abruptly stops.

Officers with the U.S. Park Police shot Ghaisar in the head four times on Nov. 17. Ghaisar, who by all accounts was unarmed and alone on George Washington Memorial Parkway, died 10 days later due to brain damage. Since then, the Ghaisar family has been seeking answers from the federal government about what happened to the football-loving young man from suburban Virginia who worked at his dad’s accounting firm and was looking forward to becoming an uncle.

“Not only did we lose Bijan, on top of it [all] but ... we have no information,” Ghaisar’s mother, Kelly, told HuffPost. “The total silence of this case makes us, our whole family, feel even worse, because we have to deal with Bijan’s loss and the way that he was taken.”

In shootings involving federal officers, like the U.S. Park Police which are under the U.S. Interior Department’s National Park Service, there’s often little information available upfront, while shootings involving local officers typically provide more.

The FBI is now investigating the case, but they initially opposed releasing the video. Federal authorities still haven’t named the two officers who killed Ghaisar, though the Interior Department has said they’re both on administrative leave. The lack of public information on the investigation has garnered criticism. The Washington Post’s editorial board criticized the dearth of information about the shooting last December, calling it “a mockery of the open society that distinguishes the United States from autocracies and dictatorships.”

But the veil of secrecy surrounding Ghaisar’s death was lifted a bit on Wednesday, when Fairfax County Chief of Police Edwin Roessler issued a press release for the dashcam video. While Fairfax officers weren’t involved in Ghaisar’s shooting, they did assist the U.S. Park Police in chasing Ghaisar’s vehicle. Roessler said he was releasing the video as a “matter of transparency to all in our community, especially the Ghaisar family.” He added he was confident in the FBI’s investigation.

U.S Park Police say they pursued Ghaisar’s vehicle after his SUV was involved in a collision on southbound George Washington Memorial Parkway at Slaters Lane in Alexandria, Virginia. Ghaisar reportedly was hit by an Uber driver in a Toyota Corolla before driving off. The Uber driver told FOX 5 that he and his passenger got Ghaisar’s license plate tag and called police. The Uber driver and his passenger did not report any injuries. The Uber driver was ticketed for failing to maintain proper control, according to the police report HuffPost obtained.

Fairfax Police later joined U.S. Park Police in their pursuit of Ghaisar, which initially began around 7:30 p.m. EST. Ghaisar is seen in the video being stopped twice by U.S. Park Police before coming to a full stop the third time at Fort Hunt and Alexandria. During the previous stops, police are seen pulling up alongside Ghaisar’s car, and drawing their weapons. Ghaisar’s family has speculated that the officer’s weapons frightened Ghaisar and caused him to drive off again.

The video “shows the senseless killing of a young man at the hands of those charged” with protecting the public, said Roy Austin Jr., an attorney for the family who previously served in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division before joining former President Barack Obama’s White House.

“Bijan Ghaisar was repeatedly threatened by over-aggressive and out-of-control law enforcement officers, after he drove away from a minor traffic incident in which he was the victim and in which there was little property damage and no known injuries,” Austin said in a Wednesday statement. “No one was even close to being in harm’s way until a pair of U.S. Park Police officers repeatedly shot Bijan at close range as he sat, unarmed, in his Jeep on a residential street. We don’t know why the U.S. Park Police officers shot Bijan multiple times, or whether those officers are still patrolling the area’s parkways. What we do know is that justice demands that those responsible for taking Bijan’s life answer for this illegal and unconstitutional killing.”

Ghaisar’s family and friends want to know how a minor fender bender escalated into a police chase that ultimately ended in the young man’s death. Ghaisar graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2015 and worked for his father’s firm Caesar & Associates in McLean, Virginia. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Friends and family who knew Ghaisar described him as being very upbeat and positive and as an avid New England Patriots fan. A first-generation Iranian-American, Ghaisar and sister were born in Virginia. His parents immigrated to the United States decades ago.

“I believe that the people who shot and killed Bijan should be held accountable. Doesn’t matter if they are police officers or civilians. Once you kill someone in this heinous way, you should be held accountable and that’s what I want to see,” said Kelly Ghaisar. “This whole thing, it’s such an out of body experience ... but we are trying to cope because we want to get justice for Bijan. It’s what drives us to get out of bed and do something.”

Andrea

01-31-2018, 07:25 PM

Bodycam video appears to show Chicago cop shooting at man who’s running away

Bodycam video appears to show Chicago cop shooting at man who’s running away (Bodycam video appears to show Chicago cop shooting at man who’s running away)

Police bodycam footage recently released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability appears to show an officer opening fire at a man who was running away and down a flight of stairs.

The footage was made public late last week, 60 days after a Chicago Police officer fatally shot Aquoness Cathery, 24, in the 6100 block of South King Drive.

Police said at the time that Cathery, who lived in the Park Manor neighborhood, was armed when he was shot. After the shooting, a police spokesman tweeted a photo from the scene that showed a black handgun resting on stairs. Bodycam footage appears to show that same handgun on the stairs where Cathery was shot.

Plain-clothes officers from the Grand Crossing District responded about 2:15 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2017, to a report of shots fired the 6100 block of South King Drive, where they confronted an armed man, Chicago Police said at the time.

The released footage begins with an office hustling up a set of wooden stairs and bursting into an apartment with at least three people inside. As the officer runs into the kitchen, he sees Cathery running through the back door and out onto a shared porch area.

The video shows Cathery holding a gun in his right hand as he turns right to run down a set of stairs. As he is turning, Cathery’s right arm is pressed against the handrail to the stairs and the gun appears to be pointed in the officer’s direction. As Cathery rounds the stairs, the officer opens fire.

The officer partly blocks his bodycam as he walks down the stairs. Cathery can be seen lying on the ground, with his feet on the bottom two stairs as the officer tells him to “relax” before calling for an ambulance as someone screams in the background. As he’s on the ground, Cathery raises his hands, one of them covered in blood, and looks at the officer, who tells him “It’s OK.”

“I got one person shot,” the officer tells the dispatcher. “Shots fired by police. Shots fired by police.”

Seconds later, another officer walks down the stairs, and the officer who shot Cathery tells him, “Secure that weapon” that is on the stairs.

Cathery was pronounced dead less than 12 hours after he was shot, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Court records show that in the six years before his death, Cathery was arrested several times, mostly on charges related to guns and drugs. In 2014, he was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison after he was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

COPA has not yet ruled if the shooting was justified or not and a spokeswoman for the agency declined to comment further. The officer who shot Cathery was placed on desk duty for 30 days.

Andrea

02-02-2018, 08:21 AM

Deputy Caught on Camera Kicking Suspect’s Head During Arrest

http://fox40.com/2018/02/01/deputy-caught-on-camera-kicking-suspects-head-during-arrest/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5a738f1304d3011002d0b5a1&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter (http://fox40.com/2018/02/01/deputy-caught-on-camera-kicking-suspects-head-during-arrest/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5a738f1304d3011002d0b5a1&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter)

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - After reviewing video circulating on social media that shows a brutal arrest conducted by two sheriff's deputies in San Bernardino, officials have asked members of the public who witnessed the incident to come forward.

Authorities are concerned with the actions of one of the deputies in particular who is seen in the cellphone video repeatedly kicking the suspect in the head after the man was handcuffed and his body limp, according to KTLA.

The arrest occurred last Friday around 1 a.m., and investigators are hoping to interview motorists who were in the area at that time, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

The one-minute clip opens as one deputy has 21-year-old Gerardo Bernabe Vasquez pinned to the ground, with Vasquez's legs squirming.

Moments later, a second deputy arrives on the scene. As the second deputy begins to arrange Vasquez's hands to cuff them, the first deputy punches Vasquez twice in the head.

After Vasquez is handcuffed, the deputies each pick up one of his arms as they attempt to load him into a patrol vehicle. But Vasquez's body has gone limp, his torso and legs flopping toward the ground as his arms are raised behind his back.

The deputies drop him, and it is then that the first deputy begins to kick his face. It appears he strikes him three times, stepping on his head in the final blow.

Vasquez was eventually booked on suspicion of resisting or obstruction an officer, was cited and later released, the Sheriff's Department said. It was unclear why or how the two parties initiated contact.

The deputy seen striking Vasquez was placed on paid administrative leave, pending the results of the probe. Authorities said they would not identify the deputy while the investigation is ongoing.

Sheriff's officials said they were already investigating the incident when the video gained attention on social media, and Sheriff John McMahon said he found the "level of force" seen in the video concerning.

“I expect our employees always to remain professional when contacting the public, who we serve," McMahon said in a statement. "I can assure you that we take these matters very seriously and we will conduct a thorough and complete investigation.”

Andrea

02-18-2018, 11:54 AM

Darby cops' arrest of 11-year-old girl was excessive

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/jenice_armstrong/darby-cops-arrest-of-11-year-old-girl-was-excessive-jenice-armstrong-20180215.html (http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/jenice_armstrong/darby-cops-arrest-of-11-year-old-girl-was-excessive-jenice-armstrong-20180215.html)

After a call came in about a disturbance on a bus Tuesday afternoon, Darby Borough police went into action. An officer arrived on the scene in Delaware County, did some interviews, and determined that he had probable cause to make an arrest. So he handcuffed an 11-year-old girl.

Yes, you read that correctly.

A fifth grader at Chester Community Charter School, Zakiyah is small for her age. She stands about 4-feet-5 and weighs just 55 pounds. A cellphone video taken before she was taken into custody shows her sitting on a school bus. She appears calm. Still, she was cuffed with her little wrists behind her back and placed in the back of a police van.

Zakiyah (I’m not giving out her last name) was understandably terrified and told NBC10 that she thought she would never be able to see her family again.

Her mother told me Thursday she was still trying to wrap her head around the situation.

“I never thought that I had to give my 11-year-old ‘the police talk,’ ” said Jawania Browne, referring to warnings that African American parents have been giving their children for years about staying safe around police officers. “I was thinking more so my son, and he’s only 1. But as he grows up, I was thinking that I’ve got to really drill it into my son – but not my daughter. But I guess none of us are exempt.”

Authorities took Zakiyah to the Darby police station and placed her in a juvenile holding area. Zakiyah was presented with a non-traffic citation that alleges “defendant did, with the intent to cause public inconvenience or alarm, create a physically hazardous or offensive condition by actions which served no legitimate purpose to the actor.”

Mind you, this drama started because she and a schoolmate had gotten into a fight on a school bus. I don’t know what happened, and frankly I’m not all that interested. To me, what started the dispute doesn’t matter. Children fight. They’re kids.

I’m concerned about that little girl. She’s traumatized. Her attorney, Joe Montgomery, says it was “the worst day of her life.”

Zakiyah’s mother says that since being taken into custody, her daughter — who already had been in counseling for emotional issues — hasn’t been sleeping well and has had nightmares. This isn’t how elementary-age kids are supposed to be treated.

Max Tribble, a charter school spokesman, declined to release details of the incident, citing privacy concerns. He said the school, in Delaware County’s Chester Upland School District, hadn’t yet been contacted by Darby police.

I also reached out to Chief Robert Smythe at home, where he was recuperating from a bad case of the flu. He said the arresting officer had merely been following established protocol.

“I understand that it sounds harsh,” Smythe told me between coughs. “She was in custody for an assault of which we were processing her. There were wounds to the other child. I understand how it sounds, but that’s the policy.

“She was being processed because she committed an aggressive assault against another person,” Smythe continued. “We had her in custody for 57 minutes. It’s not like we put her in a cell and held her for hours. … There are police policies that we try to follow. If you are in custody, you are in handcuffs. That’s the policy.”

As for her being detained in a juvenile holding area, he said, “She just can’t walk the hallways.”

Well, what about her being put in the back of a police van?

“The officer that responded, that was his vehicle for the day,” Smythe said.

Yeah, tell that to her mom. Browne is understandably upset. She’s keeping Zakiyah home from school for now, taking her to counseling, and also considering private school options.

“I would never have thought that they would have locked up an 11-year-old child and treated her like that,” she said.

Nor would I.

Andrea

03-17-2018, 11:15 AM

San Diego police points-for-arrests program under investigation

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-sdpd-program-20180316-story.html (http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-sdpd-program-20180316-story.html)

San Diego police Chief David Nisleit has launched an internal investigation into a program intended to reward officers for drug-related arrests and citations in communities near the border with Mexico.

According to a memo sent to about 90 officers within the department’s Southern Division last week, patrol officers were to receive a half a point to 2 points for the arrests or citations, with the top point-earners given the opportunity to work in specialized units for up to a month.

On Friday, Nisleit denounced the concept of the program, which he said was not authorized by the department’s top brass. He said the program was shut down before it was implemented.

“Programs like this are not in line with the values of the San Diego Police Department and something that I would ever allow,” Nisleit said during a news conference called in response to outcry in the community.

The uproar marks Nisleit’s first encounter with a Police Department controversy since he became chief earlier this month.

During a separate news conference held outside the Police Department’s downtown headquarters, about a dozen community leaders said the matter represents an opportunity for the new chief to build a strong relationship with the community.

“This is really a test of Chief Nisleit's new administration," said Andrea Renee St. Julian, vice president of the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association. "He really needs to step up to the plate and he needs to show he is serious about attacking the attitudes that gave rise to this email, not just through words but through action."

St. Julian and other leaders demanded transparency from the Police Department and called for a separate, independent investigation into the program by the Attorney General’s Office.

They said even if the program wasn’t enacted, the idea behind it enforces the notion that there is a culture of racial bias within the department.

"We're calling on the chief to talk about how he is going to solve the problem where there is a culture in SDPD where someone felt comfortable enough to send an email to 90 officers about an unethical and unjust incentivized program … that would target people of color and minorities," said Genevieve Jones-Wright, a deputy public defender running for district attorney.

Darwin Fishman, a criminology professor at San Diego Mesa College, said the concept behind incentive programs opens the door for officers to make "unethical decisions" to meet a quota.

During his news conference, Nisleit said the idea of the program came from a “front-line supervisor with the intent of motivating our officers and focusing their efforts on drug enforcement within our community … in direct response to numerous community complaints regarding this drug activity. ”

He added: “The program was never intended to target anyone from a specific group, race or socioeconomic class.”

According to the memo sent to Southern Division officers — which was obtained by the Union-Tribune — patrol officers who received the most points for arrests or citations between March 1 and April 14 were to be given the opportunity to work in a specialized unit for two to four weeks, regardless of their tenure. The memo says the voluntary program was meant to motivate officers, increase proactive policing and help build knowledge and skills.

The memo was emailed by a sergeant to Southern Division officers — who patrol neighborhoods including San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Egger Highlands, Palm City and Nestor — on March 9.

Nisleit said his office was made aware of the program the following day and halted it. The chief said he reviewed arrest statistics and that there was not a spike in that time period.

“All of the arrests were based on probable cause,” he added.

News of the program came to light after a police officer came forward with details in an interview with 10 News — a move community leaders said shows there is not an open-door policy within the Police Department.

Nisleit disagreed, urging officers who feel their concerns are being ignored by supervisors to reach out to him and his assistant chiefs.

“I want to hear about it,” he said.

Nisleit said his department’s internal investigation would get to the bottom of how the details of the program were shared with officers without approval. The chief said any “appropriate corrective measures” would be taken based on the results of the investigation.

Andrea

03-25-2018, 06:30 PM

Week of Hell: Dozens of African Detainees Allege Serial Abuse and Hate Crimes at Notorious Private Immigration Jail

https://theintercept.com/2018/03/24/week-of-hell-dozens-of-african-detainees-allege-serial-abuse-and-hate-crimes-at-notorious-private-immigration-jail/ (https://theintercept.com/2018/03/24/week-of-hell-dozens-of-african-detainees-allege-serial-abuse-and-hate-crimes-at-notorious-private-immigration-jail/)

Late last month, roughly 80 immigrant men from Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan arrived at a remote, for-profit detention center in West Texas to await deportation. In the week that followed, the men were pepper-sprayed, beaten, threatened, taunted with racial slurs, and subjected to sexual abuse. The treatment they endured amounted to multiple violations of federal law and grave human rights abuses — and it all happened over the course of a single week. These are the findings of chilling new report by a collection of Texas-based legal advocacy groups.

The alleged abuse was so grave that advocates for the men have now filed a series of complaints with the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and local authorities calling for investigations into what happened behind the locked doors of the detention facility. According to the advocates, the U.S. attorney’s office has forwarded those complaints, which included alleged hate crimes perpetrated by detention center guards, to the FBI.

The alleged abuse was so grave that advocates for the men have now filed a series of complaints with the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and local authorities.

The detention center in question, known as the West Texas Detention Facility, is operated by LaSalle Corrections, a for-profit outfit that, according to its website, “manages 18 facilities with a total inmate capacity of over 13,000 and leases one facility to a law enforcement agency.” The report, published Thursday, provides a jarring glimpse inside the world of privatized immigrant detention, which the Trump administration is seeking to expand. The allegations bear disturbing similarities to other abuse claims made by detainees of African descent in recent weeks.

Compiled by the Texas A&M University School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic, the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic, and RAICES, a Texas-based legal organization, the report is based on interviews with 30 Somali men who described their experiences at the West Texas Detention Facility from February 23 to March 2 of this year. The report points to consistent accounts of detention center personnel, including the warden of the facility, all of whom are contractors under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, engaging in deeply abusive practices.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) takes very seriously any allegations of misconduct or unsafe conditions,” ICE spokesperson Leticia Zamarippa said in a statement to The Intercept. “ICE maintains a strict zero tolerance policy for any kind of abusive behavior and requires all staff working with the agency to adhere to this policy. All allegations are independently reviewed by ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility. ICE has not been made aware of any allegations prior to this initial reporting from RAICES.”

The backgrounds of the men, who ranged in age from their 20s to their 50s, varied. “Some came to the U.S. as refugees when they were children. Others entered recently with visas or without status,” the report says. Some of the detainees are married to U.S. citizens and have U.S. citizen children. One of the interviewees in the report who fits that description, a man whose name was given only as Taifa, came to the U.S. at age 12. He was convicted of marijuana possession in 2002. Twelve years later, ICE came to his home and arrested him. He has been moving through immigration court and the detention system ever since.

What all of the men have in common, the report notes, is that they “were in ICE custody for the sole purpose of effectuating deportation after receiving final orders of removal.” All of the men interviewed reported having been pepper-sprayed at least once during their week in detention, while 14 others — nearly half of the interviewees — reported other types of physical abuse.

All of the men interviewed reported having been pepper-sprayed at least once during their week in detention.

Diana Tafur, a supervising attorney with RAICES who took part in the investigation, told The Intercept that for reasons of confidentiality, the full complaints detailing what the men experienced have not been made public. Tafur said the network of groups that investigated the alleged abuse were initially tipped off by family members and attorneys for the men locked inside the West Texas facility. The interviews, which were conducted last week, culminated in complaints filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and its inspector general’s office, as well as local authorities.

“The assistant United States attorney for the Western District of Texas responded right away and they did say that they had forwarded the information to the El Paso division of the FBI,” Tafur said, adding that the “horrific abuse rose to violate various federal crimes, as well as civil violations.”

The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment.

One detainee, a man called Dalmar, told the legal advocates that the warden of the West Texas Detention Facility hit him in the face four times while he was in the nurse’s office. “Are you going to let this happen?” Dalmar recalled telling the medical staff, to which a staff member allegedly responded, “We didn’t see anything.” Dalmar claims he was then “placed in solitary confinement, where I was forced to lie face down on the floor with my hands handcuffed behind my back while I was kicked repeatedly in the ribs by the warden.”

“When I told him, ‘I‘ll get a lawyer to sue you,’ the warden responded, ‘We’ve got enough money,’” Dalmar claimed.

According to the LaSalle Corrections website, Mike Sheppard, a veteran corrections officer, has overseen the West Texas Detention Facility as warden since 2015.

The Intercept reached out to the West Texas Detention Facility looking to speak to an official who could comment on the report. A receptionist at the facility said, “Technically we’re not supposed to give out that information or we can’t give out that information.” When asked what specific categories of information the facility couldn’t give out, the receptionist replied, “Any information.” The receptionist then provided a number for LaSalle’s corporate office. The number connected to a voicemail box that had not been set up. The Intercept also called LaSalle’s Austin office. A receptionist there said an official with the company would or would not respond with comment later in the day. The company ultimately did not respond.

Under ICE’s 2000 National Detention Standards, as Thursday’s report notes, contractors working with the immigration enforcement agency are permitted to use force “only after all reasonable efforts to resolve a situation have failed. Staff must attempt to gain a detainee’s willing cooperation before using force, and under no circumstances should force be used to punish a detainee. Yet numerous detainees reported excessive use of force as punishment, without cause, and as the initial action taken in a situation.”

The complaints in the report shed light on the lack of enforcement options available under the standards and ICE’s unwillingness to ask private contractors “for strict adherence” to them, said Elissa Steglich, a professor at the University of Texas Law School’s immigration clinic. “These are contractual arrangements with private corporations, and we’ve seen ICE defer to their private interests,” she said.

The men interviewed for the report independently describe witnessing or being subjected to physical force that included multiple accounts of officers throwing detainees to the floor and, in one case, slamming a man’s head against the concrete “even though he did not resist.” The report adds: “One of the detainees, Sharmaarke, alleged that LaSalle corrections officers sexually assaulted him by fondling his penis and groin area over his clothes while he was pushed against the wall.”

“This happened to him multiple times,” the report claims.

In addition to the physical abuse, the detainees who had been through the West Texas facility described use of solitary confinement — what the government euphemistically refers to as “administrative segregation” — that appears inconsistent with the guidelines ICE contractors are required to abide by.

Under those rules, a committee at the facility is required to hold a hearing and issue a formal order before a detainee is removed from the general population. “None of the detainees we talked to who were placed in solitary confinement were provided copies of their segregation orders, found guilty of committing a prohibited act at a hearing, or posed a threat,” the report notes.

Instead, the report suggests a pattern of detainees being thrown into solitary for arbitrary or vindictive reasons, including asking for socks and underwear, talking too loudly to the warden, and asking to be sent back to Somalia.
MESA, AZ - OCTOBER 15: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), charter jet is pushed back for departure on October 15, 2015 in Mesa, Ariz. The plane, carrying undocumented immigrants, flew to other states for follow-on ICE deportation flights to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. ICE builds deportation cases against thousands of undocumented immigrants. The number of ICE detentions and deportations has dropped in the last two years since some states adopted laws limiting how state law enforcement agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Thursday’s report comes just weeks after an Intercept story on strikingly similar complaints made by a group of Somali detainees at an immigration detention center 1,800 miles away from western Texas — the Glades County Detention Center in Florida. Since December, dozens of Somalis who were on a botched deportation flight that was returned to Miami have been in detention, several of them accusing guards at the detention facility of violent assaults and racism. (ICE has denied the allegations.)

Detainees in Texas reported being pepper-sprayed on multiple occasions, leading, in some cases, to difficulty breathing and coughing up blood; being placed in solitary confinement as a form of punishment, including after being pepper-sprayed; and being the subject of racial epithets from guards at the detention facility. Similarly, some detainees at Glades reported that guards used pepper spray against them as a form of punishment, including by spraying into a crowded cell, making it difficult to breathe. The Glades detainees also said that they were sent to segregation units after making complaints and that they had experienced racism at the jail. “They called them ‘niggers.’ They called them ‘boy.’ They’ve said things like, ‘We’re sending you boys back to the jungle,’” Lisa Lehner, one of the attorneys representing the Glades detainees, told The Intercept last month.

At the West Texas facility, detainees similarly reported guards using racist language when addressing them. “Shut your black ass up. You don’t deserve nothing. You belong at the back of that cage,” one detainee recalled an officer saying. “Boy, I’m going to show you. You’re my bitch,” recalled another. “You are a terrorist,” said a third.

“The pattern and practice of abuses LaSalle corrections officers engaged against the group of African detainees over the course of a week amounts to hate crimes, conspiracy against rights, and a deprivation of rights under color of law,” says the report. “The officers used epithets (‘terrorist’ and ‘boy’ and ‘n*’) in combination with beatings, broad and indiscriminate use of pepper spray, and routine and arbitrary use of segregation and other violations to demean and injure the men.”

By congressional mandate, ICE is required to meet a quota of 34,000 beds filled each day. The Trump administration has sought to increase that number to 51,000. Housing that many people requires significant resources devoted to medical care. In that area, too, the West Texas Detention Facility appears to have fallen woefully short.

In 2015, Taifa, the man who came to the U.S. at age 12 and now has a U.S. citizen family, was involved in a car accident where he shattered his pelvis and suffered brain trauma. According to the report, his injuries require multiple medications and psychiatric care. However, since he was detained, Taifa said he had not received medications or had access to a psychiatrist. A detainee named Mohamed, who claims to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the torture and murder of family members in his home country, added that he was denied medication to treat his PTSD at the facility. He also claimed that he had not received any medical care in response to him coughing up blood after being pepper-sprayed several times.

Many of the men interviewed for the report have spent months or years in detention after receiving a final order of deportation because ICE was not able to deport them to Somalia. Steglich, the University of Texas Law School professor, said two deportation flights were canceled in the last month, without explanation from ICE. Many of the men did not have travel documents and could not reach their embassy, which might have been a reason for the delay, she noted.

“Overall, this raises a real question of the credibility of ICE engaging in pre-detention of folks who have been ordered deported without any assurance that flights can actually happen,” Steglich said. “I think it’s significant that we saw weeks, if not months, of detention that we know of, and two flights not going forward. And that begs the question of the necessity of detaining folks when they did and keeping folks detained.”

The West Texas Detention Facility has a history of scrutiny for its conditions. In 2016, the ICE Office of Detention Oversight reported the detention facility had multiple deficiencies with discipline and health services. “A review of facility training records showed facility staff did not consistently receive required training on the use of non-lethal equipment, e.g. oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray,” ICE investigators found, using the name for the active ingredient in pepper spray.

A 2016 article from Fronteras Desk, a collaboration of public radio stations across the southwestern U.S., mentions detainees complaining of inhumane treatment at the facility, including some who said they were forced to use plastic bags as toilets. In May 2017, Mexican journalist Martín Méndez Pineda, who was seeking asylum in the U.S., wrote a Washington Post column on his experiences at the West Texas Detention Facility, where he was held. It was there, he said, that he “experienced the worst days of my life.”

“I’ve had family members tell me their loved one will not tell them about what’s going on because they’re too afraid to do so.”

Alan Dicker from the Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee, a collective that works with detained migrants, said the report’s findings were not surprising. But many detainees will not speak out about conditions inside the facility, he added, out of fear of retaliation.

“They’re terrified,” Dicker told The Intercept. “I’ve had family members tell me their loved one will not tell them about what’s going on because they’re too afraid to do so.”

According to the LaSalle website, the detention center was owned by Emerald Corrections until April 2017, when LaSalle acquired it. Sheppard, the current warden of the facility, was previously working for the facility under Emerald, according to LaSalle’s website.

Though complaints of abuse have dogged the West Texas Detention Facility for years, Steglich said the guards are no doubt emboldened by the anti-immigrant rhetoric emanating from the highest levels of government. In January, for example, President Donald Trump reportedly used the word “shithole” to describe African countries.

[I]Andrea: Clink link for rest of article

Andrea

03-28-2018, 06:25 PM

SAPD officer pulled out woman's tampon, did vaginal search on side of road, lawsuit claims

https://www.ksat.com/news/sapd-officer-pulled-out-womans-tampon-did-vaginal-search-on-side-of-road-lawsuit-claims (https://www.ksat.com/news/sapd-officer-pulled-out-womans-tampon-did-vaginal-search-on-side-of-road-lawsuit-claims)

A lawsuit filed in federal court Friday claims a San Antonio Police officer pulled a woman's tampon out and searched her vaginal cavity along the shoulder of a public street in 2016.

Natalie D. Simms' attorney filed the lawsuit against the City of San Antonio and a female officer, identified as Mara Wilson, stating that the search violated Simms' constitutional rights.

According to the filing, Simms was approached by officers while sitting on a curb, talking on the phone and waiting for her boyfriend. The lawsuit claims Simms consented to a search of her car, which was parked across the street from where she was sitting, and that authorities found no illegal items.

Then, the lawsuit alleges, authorities called a female officer, Wilson, to the scene to search Simms.

The lawsuit details parts of the conversations between Simms and Wilson, recorded from Wilson's body camera. According to the court documents, Simms and Wilson went back and forth about the kind of clothes she was wearing before Wilson began searching her vaginal cavity.
The following is a quotation of a conversation between Simms and Wilson, included in the lawsuit, leading up to the search:

Wilson: Stand up straight. Kind of lean back a little bit. (Inaudible) This
is -- these are shorts? Oh, it's a skirt-short?
Simms: Yes.
Wilson: Oh, hell. Okay. Look straight ahead, okay. Spread your legs. I'm
gonna ask you, do you have anything down here before I reach down here?
Simms: No. I don't have nothing in my --.
Wilson: Okay.

The lawsuit alleges Wilson assured she would not "reach," rather "just look," but that Simms kept flinching.
The following is a quotation of a conversation between Simms and Wilson, included in the lawsuit, during the search:

Wilson: Uh-huh. Are you wearing a tampon, too?
Simms: Yes.
Wilson: Okay. I just want to make sure that's what it is. Is that a tampon?
Simms: Come on. Yes.
Wilson: Huh? Is that a tampon?
Simms: It's full of blood, right? Why would you do that?

The lawsuit alleges Simms asked why she had to be searched on the side of a road and not at "the station," to which Wilson said "Which (police station)? We got a whole bunch of them."

Court documents report that Wilson told a detective she was "searching everything," and had removed Simms' tampon because she "just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything in there."

The document states Simms never consented to the vaginal cavity search and that authorities never found anything illegal during their search. She was allowed to leave.

An internal investigation, the lawsuit states, revealed the officer that called Wilson to the scene "never indicated to do a cavity search." Court documents state Wilson retired on May 1.

Simms' attorney is asking for a jury trial.

The city's attorney said his office is still reviewing the lawsuit and had no comment Sunday.

Andrea

04-01-2018, 09:56 AM

Stephon Clark protester hit by Sacramento County sheriff's vehicle during march

http://www.sacbee.com/news/article207598209.html (http://www.sacbee.com/news/article207598209.html)

A protester at a vigil Saturday night for Stephon Clark was hit by a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department vehicle on Florin Road, the latest tense moment between law enforcement and activists following the March 18 police shooting death of the unarmed black man.

Witnesses and the struck protester said the sheriff's vehicle left the scene.

The collision, captured on video by Guy Danilowitz of the National Lawyers Guild, occurred as protesters marched down Florin Road in south Sacramento.

The activist struck was Wanda Cleveland, a regular at Sacramento City Council meetings. She lay immobile on her side in the street until a fire department crew arrived to pick her up.

Cleveland was released from Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center after midnight, with bruises on her arm and the back of her head.

"He never even stopped. It was a hit and run. If I did that I’d be charged," Cleveland said at the hospital. "It's disregard for human life."

In a press release early Sunday morning, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Shaun Hampton confirmed the accident had occurred. The release said two sheriff's department vehicles were surrounded at about 8:40 p.m. by protesters who were yelling and kicking the vehicles.

"Vandals in the crowd" caused "scratches, dents, and a shattered rear window" to a sheriff's vehicle, the release said. The release did not address why the vehicle that struck Cleveland did not stop, and Hampton did not immediately respond to a request for further details.

Dominique Poydras, who was attending the vigil, said a group of protesters had surrounded a Sheriff's Department vehicle and a few were throwing eggs at it.

Based on footage captured by Channel 10, a sheriff's vehicle pulled up, lights flashing, as protesters marched in the street. About three dozen people then surrounded the vehicle and kept chanting.

The sheriff's deputy four times sounded his siren and said, "Back away from my vehicle." He slowly pulled forward and left the scene. A second sheriff's vehicle followed and struck Cleveland, sending her to the curb, the Channel 10 video shows.

Cleveland said that when the first vehicle said to clear out, she started to walk toward the curb because her arthritis was making her knees weak. The second vehicle driver made no request, she said, and abruptly accelerated and hit her in the knee, sending her into the air.

"I heard wheels spin. And then I saw her body flung to the curb," Tifanei Ressl-Moyer, another legal observer who witnessed the incident, said. "The vehicle sped off and some protesters went after them."

The sheriff's department release said the patrol vehicle was traveling at "slow speeds" when the collision occurred.

Andrea

04-03-2018, 11:15 AM

Video shows police repeatedly punching man pinned to street as he cries, 'Why?'

http://www.kcra.com/article/video-shows-police-repeatedly-punching-man-pinned-to-street-as-he-cries-why/19667978 (http://www.kcra.com/article/video-shows-police-repeatedly-punching-man-pinned-to-street-as-he-cries-why/19667978)

Police in Texas are investigating a weekend arrest in which an officer was caught on video kneeling on a black man’s back and punching him while another officer kneed him.

In the 50-second video of Saturday’s arrest posted on Facebook by the Next Generation Action Network, which organizes demonstrations against police abuse, two Fort Worth police officers can be seen restraining Forrest Curry, 35, as he lies face-down in the street. A white officer kneels on Curry’s back and repeatedly punches him as he cries, “Why the f--- are you punching me? Why?” A black officer next to Curry knees him repeatedly in his side.

Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said in a statement Sunday that the officers were responding to a call for backup from fire department personnel, who told the officers that Curry “appeared to be intoxicated and had attempted to assault them.”

It took three officers and one supervisor about five minutes to subdue Curry, Fitzgerald said.

Curry, 35, was booked into Tarrant County Corrections Center on charges of resisting officers and evading arrest. He was released on bond Monday afternoon.

One of his attorneys, L. Chris Stewart of Atlanta, said Curry has a history of seizures and had one Saturday while walking that caused him to collapse in the street.

When Fort Worth emergency medical staff arrived in response to a call for help, Curry came to and, disoriented, took off running.

“It’s just sad that in a medical emergency, (police) couldn’t have been more patient or understanding,” Stewart said.

It is the latest in a string of confrontations that have raised questions about the Fort Worth Police Department’s use of force policies.

Two lawsuits related to the use of force by city police officers were filed in December.

In one of them, Jeremi Rainwater, who is white, contends that an officer shot him in the back without cause and several other officers colluded to cover up the flawed police response.

A grand jury that reviewed the officers’ behavior in the 2015 shooting did not file any charges against them.

In the other, Jacqueline Craig, who is black, is suing over a December 2016 arrest in which a Fort Worth officer wrestled her and her teenage daughter to the ground. Those arrests were captured on cellphone video.

Charges against Craig and her daughter were dropped, and the officer served a 10-day suspension for violating departmental policies.

In addition, last December, a Fort Worth police sergeant was fired for ordering a rookie officer to use a stun gun on a woman who had called for help during a domestic dispute. Fitzgerald released a 12-minute video from the body camera of the rookie officer that he said showed the sergeant’s behavior was “absolutely unacceptable.”

Andrea

04-04-2018, 06:43 AM

Texas Officer Indicted In Brutal Beating of Black Man Who Was Just Waiting for His Ride at Hospital

http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/04/03/texas-officer-indicted-brutal-beating-black-man-just-waiting-ride-outside-hospital/ (http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/04/03/texas-officer-indicted-brutal-beating-black-man-just-waiting-ride-outside-hospital/)

A Dallas-Fort Wort officer has been indicted on charges stemming from the brutal beating of a Black man at a local hospital in November 2016.

Officer John Preston Romer Jr., 38, was indicted earlier this month on charges of official oppression, making a false report to a peace officer, and aggravated perjury, The Dallas Morning News reported. He was released from the Tarrant County Jail on March 15 after posting bail.

The Nov. 5 incident unfolded at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, where Romer, who was working private security at the time, encountered 21-year-old Henry Newson. According to NBC Dallas-Fortworth, Newson had just spent two days in the hospital for a stomach ailment and was waiting for his mom to pick him up.

Surveillance footage of the shocking incident shows Romer approach the Black man and immediately begin questioning him.

“I’m just trying to figure out what you’re doing,” the security officer asks, to which Newson replies he’s waiting for a ride.

The incident quickly escalates from there as Romer continues pressing the young man about being at the hospital.

“Hey get off the phone. Shut up. Get off the phone. Let’s go,” Romer is heard saying in the footage before placing his hand on Newson’s chest and shoving him backward, seeming to take offense to the man calling him “bro.”

“Bro?” Romer repeats before punching Newson in the head, placing him in a chokehold and wrestling him to the ground. Other security officers are seen rushing to help Romer.

Newson was arrested and charged with trespassing and resisting arrest, both of which were later dropped, according to The Dallas Morning News. He spent two days behind bars.

As for Romer, the-then officer tried to escape his wrongdoings by telling investigators in 2017 that his use of force was approved. He later lied to a grand jury when he said he’d informed Newson he was under arrest before punching him and forcing him to the ground. Surveillance footage of the incident contradicted his story, however. Romer was subsequently suspended from the force.

Newson is now suing the city and the hospital for the “racially motivated attack.”

“He doesn’t resist, he doesn’t fight back,” Newson’s attorney, Matthew Bobo, said. “It was fast. It was violent and there was nothing that would have indicated that that should have happened or was going to happen. But it happened immediately. There was no provocation by Mr. Newson.”

Bobo also questioned why the Fort Worth police department took no action against the officer following the incident. NBC Dalls-Fort Worth reported that Romer remained on the street until December and the department didn’t strip him of his gun and badge until two weeks ago when he was indicted.

“The first time somebody ever saw that video, they should have put him on a desk, taken him off,” Bobo argued. “They should have terminated him, quite frankly. I mean, period.”

Andrea

04-05-2018, 02:54 PM

Man Arrested After Refusing to Leave Hospital Dies Hours Later in Jail

https://themighty.com/2018/01/marconia-kessee-dies-police-custody-discharged-norman-regional-hospital-oklahoma/ (https://themighty.com/2018/01/marconia-kessee-dies-police-custody-discharged-norman-regional-hospital-oklahoma/)

An Oklahoma man’s death has been called into question following the release of police bodycam footage last Tuesday. Marconia Kessee died in police custody after being discharged from Norman Regional Hospital on Jan. 16 in Norman, Oklahoma. He was arrested for trespassing after he was discharged from the hospital and refused to leave.

Kessee went to the emergency room for a headache, his uncle, Michael Washington, told Oklahoma’s News 4. “I wasn’t there, but I believe it in my heart that he refused to leave because he wasn’t treated and he felt that he needed more medication because his headache was still hurting him,” Washington said.

According to police body camera footage, the responding officers told Kessee he could seek shelter at the local Salvation Army. Kessee laid on the ground near the hospital entrance and was arrested.

“Here in about 15 seconds, I’m going to drag your [expletive] to the curb to get you off this property and then you can find your own way to the Salvation army. OK? Put your shoe on. I’m losing patience,” an officer says in the video. The footage later shows the officers dragging Kessee over to a police car.

While at Cleveland County Jail, police said Kessee tried to hurt himself, and was moved to a padded cell where he was checked on routinely. During one of these checks, Kessee was unresponsive and brought back to the same hospital, several hours after he was previously discharged.

Kessee’s cause of death has not been released. Both the hospital and police department are launching their own investigations into his death.

“Norman Regional Health System is saddened by this loss of life. We are internally reviewing this case,” a representative for the hospital told The Mighty.

An administrative review of the officers’ actions is also underway. Both officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Washington told News 4 his nephew was diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar disorder as a child, and that his nephew should have been taken to a crisis center if he was “wigged out,” which is what the hospital security officer requested when calling 911 to have Kessee removed from the hospital.

“We believe that there was no actual mental evaluation, we believe that the doctors, hospitals, did not review or take the physical assessment of my nephew and that they are partly responsible, and they will be held accountable,” Washington told News 4.

Andrea

04-07-2018, 08:11 AM

Family Calls on Police to Release Video in Fatal Shooting of Savannah Prom King

https://www.thedailybeast.com/family-calls-on-police-to-release-video-in-fatal-shooting-of-savannah-prom-king?via=twitter_page (https://www.thedailybeast.com/family-calls-on-police-to-release-video-in-fatal-shooting-of-savannah-prom-king?via=twitter_page)

Georgia police say Ricky Boyd was wielding a BB gun when officers shot and killed him at his grandmother’s house one January morning.

But Boyd’s family claims he was unarmed—and that authorities showed them body-camera footage that proves Boyd’s hands were raised. Video of the fatal encounter, which involved a group of Savannah officers, has not been released.

The 20-year-old restaurant worker died Jan. 23, not long after he was gunned down on the concrete porch of his home in front of his grandmother and four siblings. Police say Boyd was a suspect in a local murder that occurred two days before.

Jameillah Smiley, Boyd’s mother, says her son was innocent and is demanding authorities release the body-cam footage and clear his name.

“I haven’t been out here marching, protesting. I’m not for all of that right now. I just want answers to what happened to Ricky Boyd III,” Smiley told The Daily Beast.

“That’s my son. He was my everything,” she said through tears.

Will Claiborne, an attorney for Smiley, said Savannah police have refused to release video or copies of the incident report.

So Claiborne and Smiley have published a YouTube video of their own demanding Savannah’s police chief Mark Revenew release the body-camera footage and identify the other officers involved in Boyd’s death.

Smiley’s fight for justice comes days after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called police-involved shootings of African-American citizens “a local matter” that “should be left up to the local authorities,” not the feds.

And after Louisiana’s attorney general declined to charge officers for shooting Alton Sterling—a 37-year-old father of five—six times at point-blank range in July 2016. The officer who killed Sterling called him a “stupid motherfucker” after spraying him with bullets, according to video released last week.

“What are we supposed to do when local officials lie?” Claiborne asked of the White House’s apparent position on police-involved shootings of minority suspects. “Explain to me how that is supposed to work.”

Claiborne said Boyd was “wrongfully implicated” in the murder of 24-year-old Balil Whitfield, who was found shot to death in his vehicle. (A spokeswoman for the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department said the Whitfield investigation remains open—a fact which Claiborne claims shows cops had the wrong guy.)

“He has no prior criminal record. He was a good kid. We want his name cleared. He did not commit that homicide. He did not shoot a police officer. He did not come out the door with the gun,” Claiborne told The Daily Beast.

“If the suspect is dead, why in the world is this still an open investigation?” the attorney said, adding that Whitfield’s killer “is still walking free.”

Savannah police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) declined to comment for this story. Bill Bodrey, a special agent with GBI, said the probe into Boyd’s death was referred to the district attorney’s office.

A spokeswoman for Chatham County DA Meg Heap said their office received the case file this week and it’s under review.

According to a GBI press release, a group of officers belonging to Savannah PD and the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, arrived at the Marian Circle home around 6:15 a.m. to arrest Boyd for Whitfield’s slaying.

Several of Boyd’s relatives exited the front door. When Boyd came out, he confronted cops “with what appeared to be a firearm,” GBI stated. “However, it was later determined to be a CO2 powered BB air gun.”

Officers fired at Boyd after he raised the BB gun in their direction, GBI claims. Boyd died soon after he was transported to the hospital.

Sgt. Sean Wilson of the Savannah-Chatham police department was shot during the incident and released. (Claiborne says this was friendly fire, not from Boyd. In January, Bodrey told the Associated Press that Wilson “did suffer gunshot wounds as well as other possible injuries.” But when asked if Wilson was shot by fellow officers, Bodrey said, “It’s still being investigated.”)

Authorities haven’t released an autopsy report, nor a cause of death or information on where and how many times Boyd was shot. Still, no one disputes Boyd was killed by law enforcement, Claiborne said.

Boyd had multiple gunshot wounds to his body, including one to his left hand, Smiley told The Daily Beast.

Meanwhile, Claiborne says cops are trying to pin a BB gun on Boyd, who didn’t own one. Authorities haven’t disclosed where the BB gun was found, he said.

The attorney’s YouTube video shows a photo taken by a neighbor, who spotted the BB gun underneath a pine tree near his house. This photo suggests the BB gun was 43 feet away from Boyd’s body, Claiborne said.

“If law enforcement’s version of this story is to be believed, he committed the [Whitfield] homicide with an actual gun, not a BB gun. Then less than two days later, they go to arrest him and he’s in the house. He does not have a firearm, but instead decides to calmly walk out the door holding a BB gun … it just doesn’t make any sense,” Claiborne said.

“And then after they shoot him, he throws the gun 43 feet. If he’s trying to commit suicide by cop, why would he throw the gun 43 feet away from himself?”

Police claim there’s only one body-cam video, despite at least 10 officers participating in the deadly arrest, Claiborne said.

Smiley met with a GBI agent, who showed her a copy of the body camera video, at the courthouse on March 31.

One detective allegedly told Smiley, “Ma’am, your son wanted to die,” and that Boyd emerged from the house hoisting a gun.

Smiley then told the officer, “Okay, I want to see this tape.”

She watched the footage on a laptop and was told to pay close attention, because the encounter escalated pretty quickly.

“I see Ricky appear,” Smiley recalls of the video. “He was wiping his eye and walked out the door.” Boyd was facing the officers and had his arms outstretched, she said. His palms were up and at waist level.

Someone said something to Boyd that made him turn toward a neighbor’s house, Smiley says. “Before you notice anything, you see my son’s hands coming together and then he falls down. Immediately. It wasn’t a second before he made that turn and they was shooting my child,” Smiley said.

Smiley said she saw no firearm or BB gun in the video clip.

“They were trying to tell me my son wanted to die,” Smiley said of one detective, who allegedly brought a BB gun to prove the shooting was justified.

“They didn’t have to kill my son. They did not even give him a chance at all,” Smiley said.

Smiley said Boyd was her first child, whom she had when she was 15 years old. “I worked ever since I was 16. Fifteen going on 16,” Smiley said, choking up. “I made sure Ricky had everything he needed. Anything he needed.”

She described Boyd as an old soul and hard worker, who loved basketball and cowboy movies. He worked at the Crab Shack, a restaurant on Tybee Island.

Before he graduated from Savannah High School in May 2016, Boyd was voted Prom King, as well as “best dressed.”

The mother said she recently received certification from a local college to become an office specialist. But she doesn’t know if she’ll attend graduation next month, now that her oldest son won’t be there to see her.

“I gotta push myself, because I wanted my son to be there, to let him know he could do it, too,” Smiley said.

Andrea

04-15-2018, 11:00 AM

Trooper tases teen on ATV. Police video reveals what happens next.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/04/13/police-video-michigan-state-police-taser/499525002/ (https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/04/13/police-video-michigan-state-police-taser/499525002/)

As 15-year-old Damon Grimes lay dying in the middle of Rossini Drive last August, Michigan State Police Trooper Mark Bessner crouched over his body.

“He’s got a pulse, and he’s breathing. He’s unconscious,” Bessner said into his police radio, adding later, “He slowed down. We tased him, and he crashed out.”

Grimes had been driving about 35 mph on an ATV when Bessner — a passenger in a moving patrol car — fired his stun gun at the teen during a chase on Detroit’s east side.

Over 25 hours of video and audio detail an ATV crash in Detroit involving 15-year-old Damon Grimes, who was allegedly tased by Michigan State Police trooper Mark Bessner during a chase in August of 2017.

Grimes slammed into the back of a parked truck and flew off his ATV. The impact of the crash ripped gashes into his forehead, both cheeks and upper lip and dislocated his skull. Doctors pronounced him dead on arrival at St. John Hospital.

Bessner, who resigned from his job amid a criminal investigation, has been charged with murder.

To better understand what happened the evening of Aug. 26, the Free Press used the Michigan Freedom of Information Act to request extensive records related to the crash. It received almost 11 hours of footage captured by cameras mounted in patrol cars, on nearby businesses and worn by Detroit Police officers, who also responded to the incident.

The Free Press also obtained almost 16 hours of audio recordings from police radios and phones as well as more than 600 pages of documents and more than 500 photos. Michigan State Police took six months to provide those records, which were heavily redacted. For example, State Police withheld all footage captured from the camera in Bessner's squad car, and also blurred the video of Grimes.

Still, the video and audio files that were turned over by MSP show elements of the chase and its aftermath from dozens of angles and perspectives with candid, real-time comments provided by police officers seeing the events unfold in front of them.

Communities across the nation are equipping officers with body cameras to document police contacts with the public. Detroit Police began wearing them in 2016 but little footage from their cameras has become public — until now.

The chase is on

"Give us priority," Bessner is heard saying into a police radio. "Chasing an ATV east on Rossini from Reno. It's a red quad. Black male, black shirt."

A security camera mounted on the Embassy Coney Island restaurant at the corner of Gratiot and Rossini was pointed at the parking lot, but in the background, it showed a view of Rossini where Grimes' ATV appears followed closely by a State Police patrol car. Just as the ATV exits the camera frame, it bounces back into the frame after striking a parked Ford F-150 pickup. The security camera footage didn't include sound, but police cameras did.

“He flipped,” Detroit Police Officer J. Williams said before quickly reporting the accident over his radio.

Williams and his partner, Officer Cameron Boersma, pulled up about 20 seconds after the crash. As they stepped out of their police cruiser, Bessner was bent over Grimes, who lay in the middle of the street beside the pickup, his overturned ATV nearby.

Michigan State Police were patrolling in area that day as part of the Secure Cities Partnership, an initiative launched in 2012 to bring additional police resources to high-crime areas of Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and Pontiac.

The videos the Free Press obtained show a view from another security camera, and appear to depict the overhead emergency lights on Bessner’s squad car activating 24 seconds after the crash. State Police policy requires troopers to turn on their emergency lights, sirens and in-car video recording systems during a pursuit.

Asked this week, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office wouldn't comment on whether the lights were on during the chase, saying she couldn't discuss evidence before trial.

Around the time of the crash, State Police issued two news releases saying the lights had been on during the chase. Asked again this week, First Lt. Mike Shaw, a department spokesman, declined to comment because the criminal case is pending.

He said the cameras typically are activated in one of several ways. They begin recording automatically when a trooper turns on the emergency lights. Troopers also can activate them by pushing a button on the dash or by turning on a microphone worn on the trooper's belt.

“Have EMS step it up,” a person at the scene urged soon after the first two Detroit police officers arrived. As police waited for the ambulance, Grimes’ condition quickly worsened.

“I don’t know if he’s got a pulse anymore,” a voice is heard over the radio.

As another Detroit patrol car arrived, officers radioed for another update on the ambulance, noting Grimes' pulse was weakening.

Officers disgusted

“His pulse is weakening because he was on that fuckin' thing, and you chased his ass,” Detroit Police officer Kimberly Buckner muttered to herself as she stepped out of her vehicle, her body camera recording every step and word.

As she walked toward Grimes, an unidentified Detroit police officer reached out his hand to cover the lens of Buckner's body camera quietly saying: "They fuckin' tased his ass while he was cruisin'."

The body camera views come only from Detroit Police. State Police don't have them.

State Police reported over the radio that “he’s fading fast.” The ambulance arrived about seven minutes after the crash — about a minute faster than the city’s average response time for life-threatening calls.

By then, a crowd had gathered in the neighborhood watching as ambulance crews loaded Grimes onto a stretcher. Witnesses recorded the scene on cell phones, some questioning the pace at which first responders were moving.

“He is dead because if he wasn’t they’d be rushing,” a woman said on a witness recording obtained by the Free Press.

'A bad-ass 15'

Officer Emily Stephenson's body cam shows her approaching a fellow Detroit Police officer, whose name is not clear from the video. She asks whether police should escort the ambulance to the hospital.

“Hell no,” he responded, noting the ambulance has lights and sirens, and escorts are reserved for police. “If an officer was shot, we’ll do that.”

Shortly after the ambulance pulled away, Buckner approached that same officer and said Grimes' mother needed to be at the hospital.

“That’s a grown-ass man,” he said of Grimes, a 6-foot-1, 234-pound teenager.

“No, he’s 15,” she replied. “He’s 15 years old.”

“He’s a bad-ass 15,” the male officer said, later adding: "No sympathy at all for bullshit. Motherfucker wanna be grown, ya act grown, you gotta fuckin' deal with it.”

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Wednesday that supervisors weren't aware of the officer's comments until the Free Press asked about them.

After reviewing the body camera video himself, Craig ordered an internal investigation and pulled the 22-year veteran from his position of neighborhood resource officer. He has been reassigned to a non-patrol duty.

Craig called the remarks insensitive and said he expects better of officers at a critical scene.

"It's troubling, especially when you talk about a young man who lost his life," Craig said.

Without defending the comments, Craig said the officer who made them may mistakenly have thought Grimes' injuries were not life-threatening.

Craig declined to name the officer, citing the investigation. The Free Press identified him from a photograph as Neighborhood Police Officer Aubrey Wade. When reached by telephone Wednesday, the officer declined comment, saying he was speaking to his lawyer at the time.

Other Detroit Police officers at the scene appeared more sensitive, trying to get Grimes' mother to the hospital to see her son. One appeared to express disgust with the use of a stun gun in that situation.

“They tased his ass while he was driving,” Buckner whispered to Stephenson, “causing him to flip and crash.”

Unanswered questions

Many details surrounding the chase remain unclear because Michigan State Police heavily redacted the written reports in addition to the videos and audios.

In a typed report Berger filed after the incident, he said that he and Bessner were on Reno near Fairmount when they observed Grimes popping a "wheelie" on his ATV.

“The 4-wheeler ATV continued to approach our fully marked MSP patrol vehicle at a high rate of speed southbound Reno St. as I was driving northbound Reno St.,” Berger wrote.

State Police redacted what Berger said happened after that. Later, Berger's report said EMS loaded Grimes onto a backboard then a cot. An autopsy concluded Grimes died of blunt force head trauma.

“After EMS arrived on scene and transported the ATV driver, Tpr. Bessner and I followed critical incident protocol and separated ourselves from other troopers and sergeants,” wrote Berger, who was later suspended.

Witness reports

Residents in the neighborhood recorded the aftermath on cell phone video, voicing their emotions.

“They don’t give a damn,” a man said while police investigated after sundown. “They’re gonna still go home to their wife and kids and still get paid.”

People in the area said police can't be trusted.

“They’re supposed to protect and serve,” a man’s voice is recorded saying.

One witness also reporting seeing a piece of a police Taser, and quickly concluded that it was used on Grimes. Witnesses spotted a pair of earbuds, which a police photo shows lying in a pool of blood.

Police and prosecutors would not say whether Grimes was wearing the earbuds when he crashed.

That evening, as a Detroit firefighter hosed blood from the street, a woman, who identified herself as Grimes' cousin, said they are cleaning up the blood.

“Unbelievable,” she said in the video. “Fifteen years old — killed by the State Police. Unbelievable.

Murder charge, lawsuit

Within hours of the crash, Detroit Police brass and Grimes' family demanded answers about the teen's death.

“You guys had a pursuit today ... and now our bosses want some information,” a Detroit police sergeant said to a State Police dispatcher in a recorded conversation.

Detroit Police policy prohibits high-speed chases for traffic offenses and misdemeanors but State Police allowed them at the time. After the crash, State Police announced a policy review and suspended chases in Detroit involving traffic or misdemeanor violations. That policy was later adopted statewide.

State Police halted their Detroit patrols in September after Grimes’ death and they have not resumed.

Craig told the Free Press that he and State Police Col. Kriste Etue decided together that, “given the seriousness of this offense, that the Secure Cities aspect, meaning troopers being deployed in the 9th Precinct, would be terminated for now."

When Grimes' family sought answers about his death, State Police told them the case was still being investigated, and that reports are available under the Freedom of Information Act, according to documents obtained by the Free Press.

State Police took six months to provide the records the Free Press requested under FOIA.

By then, Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger had filed an excessive force lawsuit on behalf of Grimes' family. Fieger told the Free Press on Wednesday that he has seen unredacted video that shows the Taser incident.

"It's horrible," Fieger said. "It shows him shooting ... using him for target practice."

Fieger declined to show the unredacted video to the Free Press. Last month, a judge issued an order that prohibits the parties from sharing material from MSP with anyone other than those involved in the lawsuit.

"There is no defense to this case," Fieger said. "The defense is 'How much do we have to pay?' ”

Fieger also criticized Detroit Police for not doing more to try to stop the chase that ended Grimes' life.

"I think they were watching it," Fieger said, adding that the disparaging comments from the Detroit police officer were insensitive and uncaring.

A federal lawsuit filed by Grimes' family is proceeding with a trial expected to begin in summer 2019.

In December, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges against Bessner.

“Trooper Bessner unnecessarily deployed his Taser at Mr. Grimes without legal justification or excuse as Mr. Grimes was traveling at least 35 to 40 miles per hour,” Worthy said when she announced the charges Dec. 20.

Worthy declined to charge Berger and Sgt. Jacob Liss, a supervisor. Both those men remain suspended amid an internal investigation, Shaw said.

Bessner, a 44-year-old husband, father and lawyer, is free on bond and wearing a tether to track his movements. His criminal trial is scheduled to start July 9 in Wayne County Circuit Court.

Bessner's attorney, Richard Convertino, agreed to an interview, but then didn't respond to requests to schedule it.

Convertino previously called Grimes' death tragic, noting the teen drove the ATV “recklessly and dangerously” and “actively resisted and evaded arrest.”

“During the pursuit, Trooper Bessner was forced to make a split-second decision under circumstances on the scene and at the moment which was tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving,” Convertino told the Free Press in the e-mail, shortly after the crash.

Bessner has a history of using excessive force and has been reprimanded before for using his Taser inappropriately, including using the device on handcuffed suspects. The investigation into Bessner’s conduct shows that over a four-year span ending in 2017, he had 40 use of force incidents, 17 pursuits and five car accidents.

Shaw said use of force reports cover a broad range of contact between troopers and suspects, including things like wrestling someone to the ground, using pepper spray or a Taser, all the way up to using deadly force. The number of such contacts may vary based on a trooper's assignment, Shaw said.

"There's no way to look at that and say this is high, this is low," he said.
Neighbors outraged

Neighbors were outraged at the death of Grimes, who was about to begin ninth grade at Michigan Collegiate in Warren. School officials described him as a considerate student who excelled in science and math.

Four days after the crash, Berger said he returned to the area looking for the black Ford F-150 Grimes' barreled into and saw more than 100 people at the corner of Gratiot and Rossini — some on ATVs, golf carts and dirt bikes. News crews also were present.

Berger never got out of his patrol car.

“The large crowd of people were not pleased with our presence and began to taunt us by yelling and screaming at us,” his report said. “The large crowd displayed multiple hand gestures (middle fingers) with explicit language.”

MSP detectives interviewed residents as part of their investigation and can be heard on one audio recording, discussing what a local woman said about the crash.

“She’s like, 'All these people in here are wanting to talk about protesting the police. He drives this neighborhood recklessly all the time. Why didn’t he just stop?’ ” an investigator recalled her saying.

The woman's voice was redacted from the audio recording provided to the Free Press.

The detectives go on to say two people made bad decisions.

“It could have been handled differently on both sides as far as I’m concerned,” one of the men said. “Had I been out here chasing him … I guarantee I would have done it differently. Guaranteed, I would have done it differently.”

Kätzchen

04-15-2018, 11:28 AM

Trooper tases teen on ATV. Police video reveals what happens next.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/04/13/police-video-michigan-state-police-taser/499525002/ (https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/04/13/police-video-michigan-state-police-taser/499525002/)

As 15-year-old Damon Grimes lay dying in the middle of Rossini Drive last August, Michigan State Police Trooper Mark Bessner crouched over his body.

“He’s got a pulse, and he’s breathing. He’s unconscious,” Bessner said into his police radio, adding later, “He slowed down. We tased him, and he crashed out.”

Grimes had been driving about 35 mph on an ATV when Bessner — a passenger in a moving patrol car — fired his stun gun at the teen during a chase on Detroit’s east side.

Over 25 hours of video and audio detail an ATV crash in Detroit involving 15-year-old Damon Grimes, who was allegedly tased by Michigan State Police trooper Mark Bessner during a chase in August of 2017.

Grimes slammed into the back of a parked truck and flew off his ATV. The impact of the crash ripped gashes into his forehead, both cheeks and upper lip and dislocated his skull. Doctors pronounced him dead on arrival at St. John Hospital.

Bessner, who resigned from his job amid a criminal investigation, has been charged with murder.

To better understand what happened the evening of Aug. 26, the Free Press used the Michigan Freedom of Information Act to request extensive records related to the crash. It received almost 11 hours of footage captured by cameras mounted in patrol cars, on nearby businesses and worn by Detroit Police officers, who also responded to the incident.

The Free Press also obtained almost 16 hours of audio recordings from police radios and phones as well as more than 600 pages of documents and more than 500 photos. Michigan State Police took six months to provide those records, which were heavily redacted. For example, State Police withheld all footage captured from the camera in Bessner's squad car, and also blurred the video of Grimes.

Still, the video and audio files that were turned over by MSP show elements of the chase and its aftermath from dozens of angles and perspectives with candid, real-time comments provided by police officers seeing the events unfold in front of them.

Communities across the nation are equipping officers with body cameras to document police contacts with the public. Detroit Police began wearing them in 2016 but little footage from their cameras has become public — until now.

The chase is on

"Give us priority," Bessner is heard saying into a police radio. "Chasing an ATV east on Rossini from Reno. It's a red quad. Black male, black shirt."

A security camera mounted on the Embassy Coney Island restaurant at the corner of Gratiot and Rossini was pointed at the parking lot, but in the background, it showed a view of Rossini where Grimes' ATV appears followed closely by a State Police patrol car. Just as the ATV exits the camera frame, it bounces back into the frame after striking a parked Ford F-150 pickup. The security camera footage didn't include sound, but police cameras did.

“He flipped,” Detroit Police Officer J. Williams said before quickly reporting the accident over his radio.

Williams and his partner, Officer Cameron Boersma, pulled up about 20 seconds after the crash. As they stepped out of their police cruiser, Bessner was bent over Grimes, who lay in the middle of the street beside the pickup, his overturned ATV nearby.

Michigan State Police were patrolling in area that day as part of the Secure Cities Partnership, an initiative launched in 2012 to bring additional police resources to high-crime areas of Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and Pontiac.

The videos the Free Press obtained show a view from another security camera, and appear to depict the overhead emergency lights on Bessner’s squad car activating 24 seconds after the crash. State Police policy requires troopers to turn on their emergency lights, sirens and in-car video recording systems during a pursuit.

Asked this week, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office wouldn't comment on whether the lights were on during the chase, saying she couldn't discuss evidence before trial.

Around the time of the crash, State Police issued two news releases saying the lights had been on during the chase. Asked again this week, First Lt. Mike Shaw, a department spokesman, declined to comment because the criminal case is pending.

He said the cameras typically are activated in one of several ways. They begin recording automatically when a trooper turns on the emergency lights. Troopers also can activate them by pushing a button on the dash or by turning on a microphone worn on the trooper's belt.

“Have EMS step it up,” a person at the scene urged soon after the first two Detroit police officers arrived. As police waited for the ambulance, Grimes’ condition quickly worsened.

“I don’t know if he’s got a pulse anymore,” a voice is heard over the radio.

As another Detroit patrol car arrived, officers radioed for another update on the ambulance, noting Grimes' pulse was weakening.

Officers disgusted

“His pulse is weakening because he was on that fuckin' thing, and you chased his ass,” Detroit Police officer Kimberly Buckner muttered to herself as she stepped out of her vehicle, her body camera recording every step and word.

As she walked toward Grimes, an unidentified Detroit police officer reached out his hand to cover the lens of Buckner's body camera quietly saying: "They fuckin' tased his ass while he was cruisin'."

The body camera views come only from Detroit Police. State Police don't have them.

State Police reported over the radio that “he’s fading fast.” The ambulance arrived about seven minutes after the crash — about a minute faster than the city’s average response time for life-threatening calls.

By then, a crowd had gathered in the neighborhood watching as ambulance crews loaded Grimes onto a stretcher. Witnesses recorded the scene on cell phones, some questioning the pace at which first responders were moving.

“He is dead because if he wasn’t they’d be rushing,” a woman said on a witness recording obtained by the Free Press.

'A bad-ass 15'

Officer Emily Stephenson's body cam shows her approaching a fellow Detroit Police officer, whose name is not clear from the video. She asks whether police should escort the ambulance to the hospital.

“Hell no,” he responded, noting the ambulance has lights and sirens, and escorts are reserved for police. “If an officer was shot, we’ll do that.”

Shortly after the ambulance pulled away, Buckner approached that same officer and said Grimes' mother needed to be at the hospital.

“That’s a grown-ass man,” he said of Grimes, a 6-foot-1, 234-pound teenager.

“No, he’s 15,” she replied. “He’s 15 years old.”

“He’s a bad-ass 15,” the male officer said, later adding: "No sympathy at all for bullshit. Motherfucker wanna be grown, ya act grown, you gotta fuckin' deal with it.”

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Wednesday that supervisors weren't aware of the officer's comments until the Free Press asked about them.

After reviewing the body camera video himself, Craig ordered an internal investigation and pulled the 22-year veteran from his position of neighborhood resource officer. He has been reassigned to a non-patrol duty.

Craig called the remarks insensitive and said he expects better of officers at a critical scene.

"It's troubling, especially when you talk about a young man who lost his life," Craig said.

Without defending the comments, Craig said the officer who made them may mistakenly have thought Grimes' injuries were not life-threatening.

Craig declined to name the officer, citing the investigation. The Free Press identified him from a photograph as Neighborhood Police Officer Aubrey Wade. When reached by telephone Wednesday, the officer declined comment, saying he was speaking to his lawyer at the time.

Other Detroit Police officers at the scene appeared more sensitive, trying to get Grimes' mother to the hospital to see her son. One appeared to express disgust with the use of a stun gun in that situation.

“They tased his ass while he was driving,” Buckner whispered to Stephenson, “causing him to flip and crash.”

Unanswered questions

Many details surrounding the chase remain unclear because Michigan State Police heavily redacted the written reports in addition to the videos and audios.

In a typed report Berger filed after the incident, he said that he and Bessner were on Reno near Fairmount when they observed Grimes popping a "wheelie" on his ATV.

“The 4-wheeler ATV continued to approach our fully marked MSP patrol vehicle at a high rate of speed southbound Reno St. as I was driving northbound Reno St.,” Berger wrote.

State Police redacted what Berger said happened after that. Later, Berger's report said EMS loaded Grimes onto a backboard then a cot. An autopsy concluded Grimes died of blunt force head trauma.

“After EMS arrived on scene and transported the ATV driver, Tpr. Bessner and I followed critical incident protocol and separated ourselves from other troopers and sergeants,” wrote Berger, who was later suspended.

Witness reports

Residents in the neighborhood recorded the aftermath on cell phone video, voicing their emotions.

“They don’t give a damn,” a man said while police investigated after sundown. “They’re gonna still go home to their wife and kids and still get paid.”

People in the area said police can't be trusted.

“They’re supposed to protect and serve,” a man’s voice is recorded saying.

One witness also reporting seeing a piece of a police Taser, and quickly concluded that it was used on Grimes. Witnesses spotted a pair of earbuds, which a police photo shows lying in a pool of blood.

Police and prosecutors would not say whether Grimes was wearing the earbuds when he crashed.

That evening, as a Detroit firefighter hosed blood from the street, a woman, who identified herself as Grimes' cousin, said they are cleaning up the blood.

“Unbelievable,” she said in the video. “Fifteen years old — killed by the State Police. Unbelievable.

Murder charge, lawsuit

Within hours of the crash, Detroit Police brass and Grimes' family demanded answers about the teen's death.

“You guys had a pursuit today ... and now our bosses want some information,” a Detroit police sergeant said to a State Police dispatcher in a recorded conversation.

Detroit Police policy prohibits high-speed chases for traffic offenses and misdemeanors but State Police allowed them at the time. After the crash, State Police announced a policy review and suspended chases in Detroit involving traffic or misdemeanor violations. That policy was later adopted statewide.

State Police halted their Detroit patrols in September after Grimes’ death and they have not resumed.

Craig told the Free Press that he and State Police Col. Kriste Etue decided together that, “given the seriousness of this offense, that the Secure Cities aspect, meaning troopers being deployed in the 9th Precinct, would be terminated for now."

When Grimes' family sought answers about his death, State Police told them the case was still being investigated, and that reports are available under the Freedom of Information Act, according to documents obtained by the Free Press.

State Police took six months to provide the records the Free Press requested under FOIA.

By then, Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger had filed *snipped*

This is so horrible, so heartbreaking.

I can hardly talk about it, but both my son's are biracial African-American. The last time I saw my youngest son was when he came home for his birthday, over a year ago last February. I haven't seen him since he left to go find work. I've gotten a trail of medical emergency response bills from all over the US. The scariest notices came from Michigan, Maryland, Rhode Island, NYC (where he was falsely arrested), and the last notice I got came from Florida. I've been worried sick over my youngest sons safety. He's not well. And because by law he's considered an adult, no law enforcement agency will intervene.

That's all can reveal publicly in our community, but I'm brokenhearted over how both my son's have been treated and I know a lot of my youngest son issues center upon racial inequality, prejudicial treatment and no social supportive network to intervene on behalf of either of my boys.

JUST the other day, I was visiting with another rider on public transit, probably as old as my youngest son. He said was from Detroit looking for work. I showed him a picture of my youngest son and asked if by chance he'd seen him. He hadn't. I gave him some money to buy food, and gave him an litany of resources here to find work.

Thanks always,

Kätzchen

Andrea

04-19-2018, 06:07 PM

Utah Man Shot and Killed While Complying with Police Commands to Show His Hands

http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/04/18/utah-cops-order-black-man-remove-hands-pocket-fatally-shoot/ (http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/04/18/utah-cops-order-black-man-remove-hands-pocket-fatally-shoot/)

Newly released body camera footage shows the moment Utah officers opened fire on an unarmed Black man as he removed his right hand from his pocket — which the officers instructed him to do.

West Valley City police officers pursued 20-year-old Elijah James Smith on April 8, as he matched the description of a suspect accused of stealing from a nearby cell phone store, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Police said Smith hopped the fence to the backyard of a home in an effort to flee, but the homeowner asked him to leave. That’s when he barged into another neighborhood home and hid in its garage.

When officers arrived at the second home, a 13-year-old boy answered the door and told them a man had enterered into his house. Two other children, aged 9 and 10, were also inside the home at the time of the incident.

Police soon went down to the garage where they found Smith standing next to the car.

“Put your hands up now. Let me see your hands,” officers shout repeatedly from the stairs that led to the garage. Smith initially only raised his left hand but left his right hand tucked in his pocket, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Another officer is heard ordering the man to take out his other hand, after which Smith raised his right elbow as he removed his right hand.

Three shots are fired, one of them striking Smith. At the same time one officer fired their weapon, another officer discharged their stun gun, which didn’t reach the suspect. Smith would later die from his injuries.

After the shooting, authorities said they found a “modified” screwdriver on the floor next to the Smith. Investigators think it was the object tucked in his right-side pocket when he was reluctant to remove his hand.

In a news conference, West Valley City Police Chief Colleen Jacobs said officers perceived Smith as a threat because he “rapidly” removed his hand from his pocket, despite the fact that they instructed him to do so. The officer who fired the shots has since been placed on administrative leave, according to the newspaper.

News of Smith’s killing sparked protests across the community.

” …Once again, it’s clear that police will see whatever they want to see in order to justify violence against people of color,” Dave Newlin, a local activist with Utahns Against Police Brutality, told The Salt Lake Tribune via email.

“I see a terrified young man with his hand in the air, desperately and clearly trying to put up his other hand exactly as police have demanded,” Newlin added. “I see someone who’s trapped after running for his life, who knows that at any moment, the violent racism of Utah’s police could take his life, as indeed it does.”

Andrea

04-27-2018, 06:49 AM

‘I can’t breathe’: Former NFL player completely unconscious after being slammed to the ground by police

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/cant-breathe-former-nfl-player-completely-unconscious-slammed-ground-police/ (https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/cant-breathe-former-nfl-player-completely-unconscious-slammed-ground-police/)

While shouting “I’m not even doing nothing! I’m not even fighting back!” former NFL defensive back Desmond Marrow was grabbed by police and slammed to the ground.

According to 11Alive news, however, Marrow appeared to go limp after being pinned to the ground by three white Henry County Police officers.

Marrow was warned he was going to get tased, handcuffed first then pressed against a white truck. One officer lifted his right leg and Marrow was then thrown to the ground.

Off camera, a person can be heard saying that the incident is “unbelievable.”

An officer was seen leaning near Marrow’s head with his hands around the handcuffed man’s throat.

“I can’t breathe,” Marrow can be heard saying. The plea for help a haunting reminder of the chokehold from New York Police that killed Eric Garner.

Marrow then went completely limp.

In a Facebook post, Marrow explained that officers tried to say that he had a gun in his pocket, however, it was only a cell phone. He said that the police “knocked my teeth out, slammed me on my head and choked me out until I was unconscious. In addition I suffered a shoulder strain and a concussion.”

In a separate interview, Marrow revealed how terrifying the incident was.

“I was fully cooperating with the officers with ZERO resistance. I thought I was going to die. I was sure I was passing out or dying.”

No videos show what occurred that led to the incident. It is unclear if there is any body cam video.

Andrea

05-14-2018, 08:39 PM

Death of black man during arrest in Louisiana ruled homicide

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/14/us/jefferson-parish-sheriffs-office-suspect-death-homicide/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/14/us/jefferson-parish-sheriffs-office-suspect-death-homicide/index.html)

The death of a 22-year-old African-American man shortly after a struggle with police last week has been ruled a homicide, authorities in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana said Monday.

Keeven Robinson, of Metairie, died last Thursday, following a police chase and an altercation with narcotics detectives from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, located outside of New Orleans, according to authorities.

An initial autopsy found significant traumatic injuries to the soft tissue of Robinson's neck, said Jefferson Parish Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich, who cautioned that the results from the autopsy, which was conducted Saturday, are preliminary and more tests need to be conducted.

Cvitanovich said the findings are consistent with compressional asphyxia, which will likely be cause of death at the end of the process.

The four detectives involved in the incident are white, said Sheriff Joseph P. Lopinto, who declined to release their names at this point.

"I understand ... this investigation will be under a microscope, understand it fully," Lopinto told reporters.

Gaylor Spiller, president of the West Jefferson Parish NAACP branch, said Robinson's family is also seeking a second independent autopsy.

"I like the fact that Sheriff Lopinto stepped up to plate, and he's doing his part," Spiller said, according CNN affiliate WDSU. "He knows that the NAACP will be on his trail."

Robinson was being investigated by narcotics detectives early Thursday, Lt. Jason Rivarde, spokesman for Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, told CNN.

Undercover detectives assigned to the case tracked Robinson down at a local gas station and tried to arrest him, according to Rivarde. But Robinson jumped back in his vehicle and led police on a chase after spotting them, Rivarde said.

The suspect rammed several police cars before crashing his vehicle, according to Rivarde.

Robinson took off on foot, jumping several fences before deputies caught him in a backyard of a nearby residential neighborhood, Rivarde said.

Rivarde says a struggle ensued with deputies who eventually handcuffed Robinson. Once handcuffed, detectives noticed Robinson was not breathing, Rivarde said. Detectives administered life saving techniques before Robinson was taken to a local hospital where he died, Rivarde said.

The agency is not equipped with body cameras or dash cameras, according to Rivarde.

"They were in a struggle," Lopinto said. "They used force." He added that the officers admitted to using force during the arrest.
But the sheriff said he's "not coming to the conclusion that this was a chokehold."

Lopinto said he contacted the Louisiana State Police on Saturday after he was told of the initial findings, and asked them to assist in the investigation.

The sheriff said he has "every faith" in his officers to do their job well.

"I know they have the expertise because this is what they do every day, but I also understand that an independent set of eyes is something that's appropriate in a case like this," he said.

The four detectives involved in the arrest were read their rights and have given statements, Lopinto said.

They are being reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation, the sheriff's said.

The FBI's Civil Rights Task force is also looking into the matter after he contacted them Saturday, the sheriff said.

The actions of the coroner's office were largely praised Monday by Robinson's family.

Hester Hilliard, an attorney for Robinson's family, thanked the coroner's office "for their professionalism and their transparency."

"Today is just as hard as Thursday for this family. They're grieving, and today they had to find out that Keeven lost his life at the hands of another," she said, according DSU. "And that's very, very hard for them."

"Now, it's time for us to move on to making funeral arrangements for a 22-year-old that should not have died," she said.

In an interview with CNN, Hilliard said she is hoping "to see the same justice for Keeven as with any other individual who has died at the hands of someone other than the police."

"We are hoping for a thorough investigation, an arrest and prosecution of those that caused his death unjustifiably," she said.

Andrea

05-20-2018, 02:39 PM

https://www.facebook.com/shaunking/photos/pcb.1814863611885882/1814863501885893/?type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/shaunking/photos/pcb.1814863611885882/1814863501885893/?type=3&theater)

This woman was kidnapped and raped by a Texas State Trooper— OFFICER HUBBARD, she is now being held hostage in Ellis County Jail!

Sherita Dixon Cole just happens to be a close personal friend of Civil Rights Attorney and my close friend Lee Merritt. These are the facts he was able to get together after speaking with Sherita’s family:

On May 20th, 2018 at approximately 1:30AM Sherita Dixon Cole was pulled over in Waxahachie, TX by a Texas State Trooper— Officer Hubbard, near a abandoned car dealership (I287 South & I35 South). She was told she was being stopped because Hubbard expected she was driving while intoxicated. Cole voluntarily performed and passed all dui/dwi protocol including a breathalyzer. However, Hubbard decided he “didn’t like [her] attitude” and that he was going to take her to jail anyway. He handcuffed her hands behind her back and placed Cole in the front passenger seat of his patrol vehicle. Hubbard then took a seat beside Cole and placed his hand on her thigh. He asked her if she wanted to go home as he hiked up her skirt. He told her that she could earn her way home, if she really wanted to go.

Cole had called her boyfriend to the scene of the stop when she was first pulled over. He arrived just as the officer began to accost her. Hubbard asked Cole who was in the car. When she explained it was her fiancé he asked her was he armed. When she said he was not, Hubbard retorted “If you tell him what happened he will be armed and his fire arm will be visible when I have to shoot him.” Hubbard went out to speak with Cole’s boyfriend and allowed him to speak with her briefly in his presence. She told him that she passed the DUI/DWI protocol but the officer said he was taking her in anyway “because of [her] attitude.” Hubbard immediately ended the conversation and told Cole he was taking her to the Ellis County Jail. Her fiancé told Hubbard that he would follow them to the jail but Hubbard warned him that he could not follow him and would be arrested if he tried. Cole’s fiancé drove a short distance up the road and waited for the officer to head toward the jail.

Instead, Hubbard reentered the patrol car after placing Cole back into front passenger seat with her hands cuffed behind her back. He drove the car behind the vacant dealership and told Cole “why don’t you just give me some of that sweet pussy you have been given your fiancé and then you can go home.” Cole begged Hubbard to just take her to jail. He placed his hands back up her skirt and penetrated her vagina, warning her “not to be stupid!” He explained, she could “go home tonight” if she just gave him what he wanted. When Hubbard’s patrol car didn’t come up the road, Cole’s fiancé looped around the highway and made its way behind the dealership. When Hubbard saw the car approaching he drove off while Cole’s fiancé followed at a distance. Hubbard maneuvered his vehicle down back streets and was successfully able to lose the vehicle tailing him. He told Cole that he knew a place where they could go and where he could get what he wanted so she did not have to go to jail. He continued to pull at her clothes and place his hand down her shirt and up her skirt. Cole continued to beg to just be taken to jail as her boyfriend searched for her. Finally, Hubbard relented and drove back to the highway and to Ellis County jail where she was booked for DUI/DWI. Cole currently remains in police custody but has been allowed to speak with her family and fiancé. We are actively working to get her released and to get the full identify of this officer in order to get him off the streets.

This woman is a mother and a corporate professional. She didn’t just make this up. A horrible crime was committed against her and it needs to be deal with immediately.

Sherita we are getting you out and getting you justice!

Andrea

05-22-2018, 09:48 PM

Taylor police face federal lawsuit over rough arrest caught on video in 2016

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/taylor-police-face-federal-lawsuit-over-rough-arrest-caught-on-video-in-2016 (https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/taylor-police-face-federal-lawsuit-over-rough-arrest-caught-on-video-in-2016)

TAYLOR, Mich. - A Metro Detroit man is accusing Taylor police officers of using excessive force during a 2016 arrest outside his home.

"I stopped at a stop sign, and they followed me home from there," Cody Meredith said.

What started as a drive home for Meredith ended with him landing in the back seat of a Taylor police car with injuries from the arrest.

"Somebody I expected to protect me basically didn't protect me," Meredith said.

On March 29, 2016, two Taylor police officers saw Meredith heading home at 2:30 a.m. Police reports claim he "braked heavily in order to not run a stop sign" and "(went) 35 mph in a 25 mph zone."

Meredith was just a block from his house, and when he turned into his driveway, he didn't use a turn signal, according to police. That's when the officers turned on their lights.

"Not using your turn signal is not a crime," said Amir Makled, Meredith's attorney.

The incident was captured on audio and video. The audio recording began the moment officers turned the lights on. At the time, Meredith was already out of his car.

"Oh s---, get back in the car, man," an officer said.

"Where you guys coming from? Get up off me," Meredith said.

Video shows a fight ensuing, and that's the core of a federal lawsuit.

"I was tased twice," Meredith said.

"An officer said stop. Why didn't you stop?" Local 4's Jermont Terry said.

"At that point, in my mind, I'm thinking, 'Why did I get stopped?'" Meredith said. "Why did I get followed home when they could have pulled me over before I got to my home?"

Video shows several blows being thrown during the fight.

"Look at that: one, two, three right to his face," Makled said. "They still haven't told him what he did wrong."

"There was no opportunity to say anything," Meredith said. "As soon as they got close to me they threw me to the ground and started beating me."

Taylor police claim the then-18-year-old resisted officers, resulting in the aggressive takedown.

"Outrageous conduct," Makled said. "Totally against the policy and procedure of any law enforcement agency."

Meredith and his attorneys said police used excessive force, especially when additional officers arrived.

"They join in on the fray, and he's continued to be kicked while a supervisor is there," Makled said.

Makled said the supervisor witnessed an officer kneeing Meredith in the back while he was already in handcuffs.

"I was being choked," Meredith said. "I was being beaten. I was in handcuffs being kicked in my face. There was a lot of stuff going on."

The incident happened in front of Meredith's mother's house, and he can be heard in the video screaming for her during the arrest.

Meredith has since moved out of Taylor and hopes to move forward. He said he never resisted officers and didn't deserve to end up in the hospital.

"They're police officers," Meredith said. "I'm a black male. That answers the question. They're going to do and say what they can to protect themselves."

But the officers aren't saying much. Local 4 requested an interview with the police chief, but he said he isn't allowed to talk about the case, the lawsuit or the actions of five officers. That's especially troubling to attorney Cyril Hall, who believes the case points to bigger problems with Taylor police.

"I don't believe it's isolated because we've had one of the officers listed in the complaint," Hall said. "He's been sued on other occasions (for excessive force)."

In the video, an officer told Meredith, "Shut the f--- up you piece of s---" and claimed Meredith had a warrant out for his arrest.

Meredith didn't have any outstanding warrants, and the moment that police realized they had the wrong person was caught on video. But police did find a small bag of marijuana inside the car when the searched it.

"They had no right to go into the vehicle," Makled said.

"It feels good to beat me a--?" Meredith asked in the video.

"No, you gripped onto me, buddy," an officer said.

"I didn't grip you guys at all," Meredith said.

"Yeah, you did," two police officers said.

Meredith said it isn't easy for him to watch the video of the arrest, even though two years have passed.

"It puts a terrible feeling in my body," Meredith said. "I feel empty, like I was worth nothing."

He said it's hard for him to visit his mother's house.

"Every time I go to the house I pull up and I look at that little spot and I remember every little thing and how it happened," Meredith said. "It's not a place I like to be. I don't call it home anymore. Your home is where you're supposed to feel safe. I don't feel safe there. I don't even feel safe being in the area."

Meredith said he hopes nobody else will experience what he did.

Police charged Meredith with drug possession and two counts of assaulting a police officer. Meredith had a medical marijuana card, so the drug possession charge was dropped.

Taylor police insisted in reports that Meredith was resisting arrest. But he now has a criminal record for what he feels was an incident escalated by Taylor police. He's seeking more than $70,000 in damages from the lawsuit.

The Taylor Police Department hasn't revealed if any of the officers involved were disciplined or whether they remain on the force.

Andrea

05-23-2018, 09:31 PM

It has been determined this never happened and the officer was very professional.

Taylor police face federal lawsuit over rough arrest caught on video in 2016

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/taylor-police-face-federal-lawsuit-over-rough-arrest-caught-on-video-in-2016 (https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/taylor-police-face-federal-lawsuit-over-rough-arrest-caught-on-video-in-2016)

TAYLOR, Mich. - A Metro Detroit man is accusing Taylor police officers of using excessive force during a 2016 arrest outside his home.

"I stopped at a stop sign, and they followed me home from there," Cody Meredith said.

What started as a drive home for Meredith ended with him landing in the back seat of a Taylor police car with injuries from the arrest.

"Somebody I expected to protect me basically didn't protect me," Meredith said.

On March 29, 2016, two Taylor police officers saw Meredith heading home at 2:30 a.m. Police reports claim he "braked heavily in order to not run a stop sign" and "(went) 35 mph in a 25 mph zone."

Meredith was just a block from his house, and when he turned into his driveway, he didn't use a turn signal, according to police. That's when the officers turned on their lights.

"Not using your turn signal is not a crime," said Amir Makled, Meredith's attorney.

The incident was captured on audio and video. The audio recording began the moment officers turned the lights on. At the time, Meredith was already out of his car.

"Oh s---, get back in the car, man," an officer said.

"Where you guys coming from? Get up off me," Meredith said.

Video shows a fight ensuing, and that's the core of a federal lawsuit.

"I was tased twice," Meredith said.

"An officer said stop. Why didn't you stop?" Local 4's Jermont Terry said.

"At that point, in my mind, I'm thinking, 'Why did I get stopped?'" Meredith said. "Why did I get followed home when they could have pulled me over before I got to my home?"

Video shows several blows being thrown during the fight.

"Look at that: one, two, three right to his face," Makled said. "They still haven't told him what he did wrong."

"There was no opportunity to say anything," Meredith said. "As soon as they got close to me they threw me to the ground and started beating me."

Taylor police claim the then-18-year-old resisted officers, resulting in the aggressive takedown.

"Outrageous conduct," Makled said. "Totally against the policy and procedure of any law enforcement agency."

Meredith and his attorneys said police used excessive force, especially when additional officers arrived.

"They join in on the fray, and he's continued to be kicked while a supervisor is there," Makled said.

Makled said the supervisor witnessed an officer kneeing Meredith in the back while he was already in handcuffs.

"I was being choked," Meredith said. "I was being beaten. I was in handcuffs being kicked in my face. There was a lot of stuff going on."

The incident happened in front of Meredith's mother's house, and he can be heard in the video screaming for her during the arrest.

Meredith has since moved out of Taylor and hopes to move forward. He said he never resisted officers and didn't deserve to end up in the hospital.

"They're police officers," Meredith said. "I'm a black male. That answers the question. They're going to do and say what they can to protect themselves."

But the officers aren't saying much. Local 4 requested an interview with the police chief, but he said he isn't allowed to talk about the case, the lawsuit or the actions of five officers. That's especially troubling to attorney Cyril Hall, who believes the case points to bigger problems with Taylor police.

"I don't believe it's isolated because we've had one of the officers listed in the complaint," Hall said. "He's been sued on other occasions (for excessive force)."

In the video, an officer told Meredith, "Shut the f--- up you piece of s---" and claimed Meredith had a warrant out for his arrest.

Meredith didn't have any outstanding warrants, and the moment that police realized they had the wrong person was caught on video. But police did find a small bag of marijuana inside the car when the searched it.

"They had no right to go into the vehicle," Makled said.

"It feels good to beat me a--?" Meredith asked in the video.

"No, you gripped onto me, buddy," an officer said.

"I didn't grip you guys at all," Meredith said.

"Yeah, you did," two police officers said.

Meredith said it isn't easy for him to watch the video of the arrest, even though two years have passed.

"It puts a terrible feeling in my body," Meredith said. "I feel empty, like I was worth nothing."

He said it's hard for him to visit his mother's house.

"Every time I go to the house I pull up and I look at that little spot and I remember every little thing and how it happened," Meredith said. "It's not a place I like to be. I don't call it home anymore. Your home is where you're supposed to feel safe. I don't feel safe there. I don't even feel safe being in the area."

Meredith said he hopes nobody else will experience what he did.

Police charged Meredith with drug possession and two counts of assaulting a police officer. Meredith had a medical marijuana card, so the drug possession charge was dropped.

Taylor police insisted in reports that Meredith was resisting arrest. But he now has a criminal record for what he feels was an incident escalated by Taylor police. He's seeking more than $70,000 in damages from the lawsuit.

The Taylor Police Department hasn't revealed if any of the officers involved were disciplined or whether they remain on the force.

Andrea

05-28-2018, 08:03 AM

New Jersey cop caught on camera punching 20-year-old woman drinking beer during beach arrest

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/n-caught-camera-punching-woman-beach-arres-article-1.4013088?cid=bitly (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/n-caught-camera-punching-woman-beach-arres-article-1.4013088?cid=bitly)

A hotheaded New Jersey cop is under investigation after a viral video showed him pummeling a young mother on the beach in front of horrified Memorial Day weekend revelers.

What began as a day of fun in the sun Saturday turned into a beach-blanket beatdown after a Wildwood cop was caught slugging a 20-year-old woman in the head at least two times while trying to handcuff her, according to video of the encounter.

The disturbing clash was caught on a cell phone camera by a woman who had been napping on the Jersey Shore. Her video showed the officer straddling the woman in the sand, and whaling away at her head as he ordered her to "stop resisting."

The woman, who was arrested, and later identified by police as Emily Weinman, cried out, "You're not allowed to hit me like that! I didn't do anything wrong," while struggling under the tight grip of two officers.

Weinman, in a Facebook post quoted by Newsweek, said her 18-month-old daughter was among those who witnessed the beatdown.

Neither the officer who hit Weinman, another cop who grabbed her legs nor a third who stood by has been identified. Two of the cops have been placed on desk duty, pending the results of the internal probe, officials said.

The arrest took place on a beach in the resort city about 30 miles south of Atlantic City.

Weinman, who lives in Philadelphia, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting bodily fluids at a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

The footage, shared on Twitter Saturday night, has since gotten more than 2.3 million views.

Weinman, in a Facebook post that has since been removed, said she had been drinking a beer, according to NJ.com. The website said she was approached by officers on the beach around 4 p.m. Weinman said she passed a Breathalyzer test and cops followed her when she went to make a phone call.

"I asked them don't they have something better to do as cops than to stop people for underage drinking on the beach," the Facebook post said. That's when Weinman claims an officer said, "I was gonna let you go but now I'll write you up."

Weinman said she refused to give the officer her name. She said she tripped and fell as she was backing away, and that's when the officer tackled her.

Weinman turns 21 in September, according to court records.

Philadelphia's KYW-TV said Weinman kicked an officer in the groin during the arrest, but the video does not appear to show it.

Weinman pleaded guilty to simple assault and reckless endangerment in November for a 2016 arrest, records show.

Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano told Philly.com that the officers were wearing body cameras that will show Weinman insulting and spitting at them. Wildwood Police Chief Robert Regalbuto found the video upsetting, authorities said.

"Chief Regalbuto stated that while he finds this video to be alarming, he does not want to rush to any judgment until having the final results of the investigation," the department said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Kätzchen

06-08-2018, 08:21 AM

Anybody following the police brutality story on national news, down in Mesa (on TV)?

I cried while watching a young black man be taken down by police, suckered punched (over and over again, and in the face) by an officer of African American ethnicity.

This is nearly what happened to my oldest son, nearly nine years ago. I hate that this is going on. I hate that it's happened to my eldest son. I hate that it happens to anyone.

It hurts my heart. It makes me sick at heart for victims of police brutality.

Andrea

06-22-2018, 07:35 AM

Report: Police officer fired after traffic stop involving his daughter’s boyfriend (http://www.kcra.com/article/police-officer-fired-after-traffic-stop-involving-his-daughter-s-boyfriend/21759533)

LORAIN, Ohio —

An Ohio police officer has been fired following an investigation into a traffic stop involving his daughter's boyfriend.

Fox 8 reports the incident took place on April 16, when Lorain police Patrolman John Kovach, a 26-year veteran of the force, initiated a traffic stop investigators determined was purely personal and an "abuse of power."

Dashcam video of the incident shows an agitated Kovach approach a stopped vehicle.

"You can get out," Kovach said.

"For what?" the driver asks.

"You're going to jail."

"For what?"

"Have a seat in my car. We'll make (expletive) up as we go."

Kovach later told investigators the driver was his daughter's boyfriend and that he did not approve of the relationship.

Police say Kovach found the boyfriend by tracing his daughter's computer to a friend's home in the neighborhood.

According to The Chronicle, the boyfriend did as he was asked and sat in Kovach's cruiser. Three other passengers were left in the stopped car.

The mother of two of the passengers came out of her nearby home. Kovach told the woman his daughter's computer was in her house. She initially gave him permission to search the home but later requested he come back with a warrant.

Kovach allegedly then threatened to give the woman's daughter a $300 ticket for not wearing a seat belt.

The mother says she is calling 911, and at this point Kovach noticed his daughter in the stopped vehicle. She initially refuses order to go with Kovach, saying she is 18 and cannot be arrested without cause, but eventually gets in the cruiser.

"You have to give me a reason, by law. Daddy, why are you pushing me? Why are you (expletive) pushing me? Why are you doing this?" she asks.

"Get in the car," Kovach orders.

While this is all going on, Kovach has reportedly been ignoring dispatchers trying to send him to a road rage incident.

“These actions are not acceptable for members of our police department and we felt it warranted immediate dismissal,” Safety-Service Director Dan Given said.

Police Chief Cel Rivera said the actions were “an abuse of police authority and a serious departure from appropriate protocol…they are contrary to the mission, values and policies of the Lorain Police Department.”

The police department’s union is appealing the decision.

Kovach told fellow officers that his ex-wife had alerted him to a post that his daughter's boyfriend made on Facebook, saying he was going to “put (Katlyn) out” as a prostitute to make money for the two of them.

However, when interviewed by Lt. Ed Super, the ex-wife said she did not know what Facebook post Kovach was referring to. She did say that she believed he was trying to be a father and did “not want him to lose everything” as she and Kovach have concerns about the daughter's boyfriend.

Andrea

06-27-2018, 11:13 AM

Prosecutors Haven't Charged Miami-Dade Cops Despite Footage Showing Them Beating Man, Lying About It

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-dade-cops-beat-man-and-lied-but-faced-no-discipline-10471151 (http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-dade-cops-beat-man-and-lied-but-faced-no-discipline-10471151)

Ephraim Casado allegedly did nothing but throw a bottle from his car on March 27, 2017. According to documents and footage New Times obtained, Miami-Dade County cops responded by repeatedly punching him in the face, grinding his body into the asphalt, and painfully hoisting him into the air by his arms before arresting him on charges of "resisting an officer with violence," criminal mischief, and misdemeanor cannabis possession.

After reviewing body-camera footage from the ordeal, prosecutors dropped the case and wrote that the video evidence directly contradicted what the cops claimed had happened. MDPD detectives punched the suspect on video and later lied on their arrest affidavits, prosecutors discovered last August. But State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle's office never charged the officers.

"I reviewed the body-worn camera footage and was troubled by what I saw," Assistant State Attorney Natalie Pueschel wrote in an August 9 close-out memorandum clearing Casado of any wrongdoing. "It is my belief that these officers were less-than-truthful about the actual events that occurred during this incident."

Despite the clear violations detailed in the memo, MDPD spokesperson Det. Alvaro Zabaleta confirmed that the two officers involved are still active and that the department's internal affairs investigation "revealed no criminal or administrative wrongdoing; therefore, there is no disciplinary action forthcoming." Internal Affairs ruled that Pueschel's account of the events was inaccurate.

The memo from Rundle's office details what seems to be a laundry list of policy violations, if not downright violations of the law. Officers claimed that Casado refused to pull over and that when he finally stopped in front of his house, he exited the car "concealing his hands" before "committing a battery upon the detective" outside his home on NW 91st Street in West Little River.

But when prosecutors obtained the body-camera footage, the clip clearly contradicted the cops' sworn arrest affidavits. Prosecutors wrote that the footage actually shows Casado exiting his car calmly with his hands in the air and that the cops forced him out of his car at gunpoint before punching him.

In the gruesome body-camera footage, which New Times also obtained, the video show Casado exiting his car by sticking his hands directly in the air above his head — and a cop then grabs Casado by the arm and whips him around and pins him onto the trunk of the car.

Another video begins by showing a cop pummeling Casado in the face.

"You just punched me in the face!" Casado yells.

"Fucking right I did," the cop responds.

In separate footage from a different officer, Casado is shown slipping out of the officers' grasp, before an officer grabs him by the wrist and pulls him to the ground. Casado briefly rolls on top of the officer before a team of cops handcuffs him.

In a different clip, Casado can be heard screaming in pain in the back seat of the police car. Seconds later in the same clip, one of the cops turns to the camera and says to another officer: "Don't say anything. The cameras are rolling." Casado also repeatedly complains that officers put him in handcuffs "without reading [him his] rights."

"My head is bleeding and my mouth is bleeding!" Casado shouts in one portion of the footage. "What's your badge number?"

"What are you going to do about it?" one officer asks sarcastically in response. Another officer repeatedly refuses to tell Casado's friends and family why he's being detained.

Casado then kicks the door of his police car a few times — the officers respond by ripping Casado from the car and placing him face-down on the sun-baked asphalt. He screams in agony as a team of cops pins him to the ground, uses a "hobble" restraint to tie his ankles together, cuffs his arms behind his body, and hoists him into the air by his wrists, yanking his arms backward in a painful position.

Prosecutors noted the officers seemed to switch their body cameras on and off during the struggle:

Casado filed a lawsuit in federal court last week against MDPD and the officers involved. His lawyer, Igor Hernandez, told New Times yesterday that Casado was stuck living on house arrest for four months while he waited for prosecutors to drop the case. Hernandez said that in addition to getting punched in the face "six or seven times," Casado was also "in the process" of getting a new job but lost his chance because he was stuck at home while the case progressed.

"This case should not have been filed, but they proceeded due to all the allegations that the cops made up," Hernandez said. "The physical aspect of this case is one thing, but the loss of liberty too was probably even worse. Plus, this is just not right — cops can’t just be doing this kind of stuff."

The county has not yet responded to the lawsuit in court; MDPD does not comment on active lawsuits.

Why hasn't Rundle's office charged any of the officers involved with lying in their sworn statements? Her spokesperson, Ed Griffith, said only that the decision not to charge the cops was "addressed in the case file."

Rundle's office has been criticized repeatedly for refusing to discipline police officers and state employees for wrongdoing. She has never charged a Miami-area cop for an on-duty killing during her 25 years as the county's top prosecutor. This past April, she quietly cleared an MDPD cop for fatally shooting a Liberty City man despite the fact that her own prosecutors confirmed 27-year-old Anthony Ford was unarmed.

This is also not the first time Rundle's prosecutors have declined to take action after mentioning in close-out documents that cops have lied in sworn reports. In 2012, prosecutors wrote that then-City of Miami Police Lt. and Fraternal Order of Police President Javier Ortiz had written sworn documents that were "inconsistent" with video evidence taken at the scene of a police-involved beating. Rundle's office never charged Ortiz with a crime.

Earlier this year, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez vetoed the creation of an independent civilian oversight panel that would have investigated complaints against Miami-Dade County Police officers. MDPD Director Juan Perez stood in front of the county commission in February and argued there is "no widespread mistrust of his police department" and, therefore, the panel was "not needed."

Andrea

06-27-2018, 03:19 PM

Officer who fatally shot East Pittsburgh teen Antwon Rose charged with criminal homicide

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officer-who-fatally-shot-east-pittsburgh-teen-antwon-rose-charged-n886896 (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officer-who-fatally-shot-east-pittsburgh-teen-antwon-rose-charged-n886896)

The suburban Pittsburgh police officer who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Antwon Rose has been criminally charged after prosecutors say that he was never threatened during the incident and acted with "no justification."

East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld turned himself in on Wednesday after being charged with one count of homicide, according to court records.

"You can't take somebody's life under these circumstances," District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. said during a news conference.

Rose, a rising 17-year-old senior and honor student at Woodlands High School, was shot three times, including in the back, on June 19 as he and another teen ran away from a vehicle during a traffic stop. The vehicle had matched the description of a car connected to a drive-by shooting earlier that night.

Zappala told reporters that the evidence supports a case for third-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison, but added that he believed prosecutors could argue first-degree murder, which would send Rosfeld to prison for life if convicted.

In a video posted on social media by a bystander in a nearby home, Rose and Zaijuan Hester, 17, are seen getting out of the passenger side of a silver Chevy Cruze. As they begin to run, shots are heard and the witness gasps and asks, "Why are they shooting at them?"

Earlier in the day, surveillance cameras captured a light-colored Chevy Cruze that was involved in a drive-by shooting, according to an affidavit. The video showed the rear passenger window rolled down before a handgun emerged and fired .40 caliber bullets. Casings from those bullets at the scene of the shooting were later positively identified as having come from a .40 caliber Glock found under the back portion of the Chevy's passenger's seat.

Detectives said that the person in the front passenger seat, where Rose had been sitting, did not fire any of the shots, the complaint said.

“Antwon Rose didn’t do anything except be in that vehicle,” Zappala said.

One person was struck by the gunfire and transported to a local hospital "where he was treated for a grazing gunshot wound to the abdomen," according to the affidavit.

After the traffic stop was made, the driver of the Chevy Cruze was ordered out of the car by the officers when Rose and the other male "bolted from the vehicle on foot," Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough later said.

McDonough said Rose was unarmed but that two semi-automatic handguns were found on the floor of the vehicle.

Rose was struck by bullets fired by Rosfeld in the arm, face and abdomen, according to the affidavit. A medical examiner determined the bullet to the abdomen hit Rose's heart and lungs, and was determined to be the fatal shot.

The driver of the vehicle was arrested and later released without charges. The driver told police he was operating as a jitney driver, McDonough said.

Hester was taken into custody late Monday night on a probation violation, according to NBC News affiliate WPXI. He was charged with attempted homicide Wednesday morning in relation to the drive-by shooting that caused the initial traffic stop, WPXI reported.

Zappala said that Hester has not cooperated with investigators.

Rosfeld, 30, had been sworn into the East Pittsburgh Police Department just hours prior to the shooting. He was an officer in other departments in the area, according to WPXI.

Immediately after the shooting, Rosfeld had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Zappala was deeply critical of the East Pittsburgh Police Department during Wednesday's news conference, saying he has concerns "about the lack of policies and procedures in East Pittsburgh" and that the city has "a lot of answering to do."

The City of Pittsburgh Fraternal Order of Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

According to the affidavit, Rosfeld told investigators inconsistent stories about believing Rose had a weapon. Initially, he said, he thought he saw something dark that he perceived as a gun, but when asked to repeat his story, Rosfeld told detectives that he did not see a gun.

In regard to the inconsistency, Rosfeld told investigators he saw something in Rose's hand but was not sure what it was, according to the affidavit.

Rose died later that night on June 19 at a nearby hospital. His funeral was held on Monday.

After what appeared to be inaction by the district attorney's office, protests took place in Pittsburgh outside the Allegheny County Courthouse over the latest fatal shooting involving a white officer and an unarmed black male.

Rosfeld was arraigned Wednesday morning. His next court date is scheduled for July 6.

The officer was remorseful, Zappala said, adding, "You do not shoot someone in the back if they're not a threat to you."

Rosfeld's bail was set at $250,000, according to court documents. He was released from custody after posting unsecured bond, according to WPXI.

The prosecution, much less conviction, of on-duty police officers involved in fatal shootings is rare.

From 2005 to 2017, 82 officers across the United States have been charged with murder or manslaughter resulting from on-duty shootings, according to research by Philip Stinson, an associate professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. In the last 13 years, only one officer was convicted of intentional murder, according to Stinson.

Andrea

06-28-2018, 06:07 PM

Shaun King shared a post.

This police officer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania should be fired immediately for what he did to this man. After he is fired, the District Attorney should immediately press charges for criminal assault.

What he did here is completely illegal.

This man was compliant, calm, unarmed, and non-violent.

Hundreds of people have been killed by police from Tasers electrocuting them to death.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=190039018320570&id=100019434198312 (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=190039018320570&id=100019434198312)

Andrea

06-30-2018, 08:28 AM

Man killed by Portland State police was Navy vet trying to break up fight, friends say

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/06/man_killed_by_portland_state_p.html (https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/06/man_killed_by_portland_state_p.html)

A Portland man fatally shot early Friday outside a sports bar near Portland State University by campus police officers was a U.S. postal worker and father of three daughters who served in the Navy and married his high school sweetheart, friends say.

They identified the man as Jason E. Washington, 45. Friend Alyssa LeCesne said Washington was also a grandfather to a 5-year-old girl who "hero worshipped the ground he walked on." She described him as a Franklin High School graduate and an upstanding man who was proud to have helped raise a household full of women.

Washington and his family came back from a trip to Mexico earlier this week, she said.

"There are a lot of people in Portland grieving right now," LeCesne said.

Police have not yet released Washington's name, nor any details of the circumstances that led to his death.

Two Portland State University police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave after at least one of them opened fire near The Cheerful Tortoise along Southwest Sixth Avenue around 1:30 a.m.

The officers have been identified as Officer Shawn McKenzie, who has been with the campus public safety office since 2002, and Officer James Dewey, who's been there since 2014. Both became armed sworn officers in 2016. The school's board of trustees voted to allow their campus officers to carry firearms two years earlier.

McKenzie and Dewey were near the bar at 1939 S.W. Sixth Avenue around 1:30 a.m. when they noticed a fight, Portland police said. At some point, at least one of the officers shot a man who was at the scene.

LeCesne and Mike Joseph, another friend and former co-worker of Washington's, said Washington wasn't involved in the fight and was trying to break it up.

A witness also told Oregon Public Broadcasting that the man wasn't fighting and was shot after a holstered handgun he was carrying fell onto the ground and he appeared to be trying to pick it up.

After the officers yelled that there was a gun, there was no apparent hesitation before the gunfire, the witness said.

The fight started because one man used racial slurs when speaking to another man, said the witness, who provided video of the altercation leading up to the shots being fired.

Mike Joseph, another friend and former co-worker of Washington's, said Washington was at the bar with friends, celebrating the Oregon State University baseball team winning the College World Series. He had a concealed carry permit for his handgun, Joseph said.

"I saw the video, and there is no way he should have been shot," Joseph said. "I wish he didn't have a gun on him, because this probably wouldn't have happened if he didn't."

Joseph said Washington was well-liked and everyone he's spoken to about the shooting is furious about his death, "especially after seeing the video."

"It's just a really unfortunate situation," said Donald Dietz, 25, an employee at the Cheerful Tortoise who witnessed the shooting. He had asked a co-worker to call the police when he saw a conflict inside the bar escalate and move outside. He was only a few feet away when the man was shot.

"The unfortunate situation is he was trying to help and break things up," Dietz said of the man who was shot.

Dietz recalled the man reaching for his gun after police told him three or four times not to.

"They warned him multiple times not to reach for it, but he did," Dietz said. "I don't want the message out there that the cops were trigger-happy." Dietz said employees at the Cheerful Tortoise did everything they could to stop the situation from escalating like it did. "It's just that people got drunk and stubborn," he added. "They had to do it," he said of the officers involved. "People think they were overzealous, but they had to do it."

Portland State University President Rahman Shoureshi said he's asked the campus public safety chief to have an internal review of the shooting, as well as the school's policy and procedures.

"Campus safety is our top priority at PSU," Shoureshi said in a statement. "As you know, we are an urban campus, and that presents challenges."

He said the school tries to provide a "safe and welcoming" environment on campus. The Portland Police Bureau is investigating the shooting.

The Portland State University Student Union said it was mourning the death of the man shot by police and noted the arming of campus officers occurred amid opposition from students. The group said Friday that it will continue to push for campus police to not carry guns.

Andrea

07-03-2018, 07:45 AM

Sources ID Brooklyn cops who allegedly drove off without leaving car to check on dying victim

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-cops-who-drove-off-in-brooklyn-identified-20180702-story.html (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-cops-who-drove-off-in-brooklyn-identified-20180702-story.html)

Two Brooklyn cops who allegedly left a shooting victim to die when they failed to get out of their car and investigate a 911 call have been identified.

Officers Roberto Anton and Lisa Lavelle, both assigned to the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville, drove off without ever getting out of their cruiser, law enforcement officers said Monday. The cops have been suspended.

Anton and Lavelle answered a 911 call of a man shot on Decatur Ave. in Bushwick on Saturday, but they left the scene after staying in their car for three minutes. Robert Fason, 43, later died from his wounds.

Fason’s brother, Lee Fason, 47, on Monday repeated his call for the NYPD to boot the cops.

“Gross, it’s gross. They are supposed to be the Finest,” he said. “That’s not them being their finest. They never told us about that (cops leaving scene). My reaction? More hurt. I want them to catch these guys who did this. And these officers, they should lose their jobs.”

He added, “If it wasn’t for the Daily News, we would have never known that the police didn’t do their jobs. They never told us anything.”

Fason said he doesn’t understand why people who swore an oath to protect others would respond to a shooting and ignore a call about a victim. The sequence began with gunfire on Saturday night. A woman heard a faint cry for help and she called 911.

Anton and Lavelle arrived and then left. The woman called again, and more cops arrived, this time finding Fason dead in the yard.

“You can’t just look out the window and drive off,” Lee Fason said. “They needed to get out of the car and investigate. They should have talked to the person who called. They were supposed to do the job that they were supposed to do.”

He said his younger brother is one of five siblings. His wife, Alona Fason, and their five children, are devastated, he said.

“He’s been with her since he was 19. They’ve been together for over 20 years,” he said. “How would you feel if the person you spent half your life with is gone?”

A second injured man remains at Kings County Hospital.

“He got shot in the neck. He might be paralyzed,” Lee Fason said. “I want to know what happened.”

Neither Anton nor Lavelle would comment Monday. Stephen Worth, a lawyer for the officers, declined to comment.

Andrea

07-08-2018, 06:50 AM

Viral video shows El Paso police officer pulling gun on cursing children

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-now/viral-video-shows-el-paso-police-officer-pulling-gun-on-cursing-children/465-eb867cd4-c93b-4d5c-a4ea-81c977162972 (https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-now/viral-video-shows-el-paso-police-officer-pulling-gun-on-cursing-children/465-eb867cd4-c93b-4d5c-a4ea-81c977162972)

EL PASO — A video showing an El Paso police officer pointing his gun at a group of children has gone viral, with more than 2.7 million views on Facebook.

The incident, which occurred Thursday and resulted in the officer being placed on desk duty, is being investigated, city officials said Saturday after the video surfaced and was reported by the media.

El Paso Deputy City Manager Dionne L. Mack and El Paso Police Department spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo said at a news conference Saturday that an adult and a minor were arrested for interfering with the duties of a police officer. No injuries were reported.

"We have assigned additional resources to ensure the investigation can be completed expediently," Mack said. She did not provide a timeline for when the investigation would be completed.

The video, which was posted at about 7 p.m. Friday on Facebook by a person with the handle "Aj-King Stoner," begins in the middle of an altercation between a police officer and a boy who appears to be a teenager.

The El Paso Times has chosen not to share the video because of the graphic content.

The video is laden with curse words, mostly from children yelling at police officers. It shows an unidentified officer with his hand on the head of a boy who is sitting on the sidewalk by the Seville Recreation Center in a neighborhood north of Ascarate Park.

At least six young boys can be seen in the video yelling at the officer. The officer then pulls out his handgun, points it at the boys and yells “Back up! Back up (expletive).”

The boys curse back at the officer. The officer puts his weapon back into its holster after a few seconds.

The names of the officer, who has been with the department for four years, and the two people arrested have not been released.

The incident began when officers responded to a report of criminal trespassing at about 5:50 p.m. Thursday, Carrillo said.

“The officers arrived and were handling that when they encountered the suspect involved in the criminal trespass and from there the events you witnessed in this video unfolded and that is where we are at,” Carrillo said.

No further details were released on what happened before the recording started or after the video ended.

Mack said her office was notified about the incident Saturday morning after the video had gone viral. She added that, to her knowledge, no complaints had been filed against any of the officers involved in the altercation.

After holstering his gun, the officer in the video points to someone off camera and says, "You again?"

He calls for more officers to respond to the scene. “Get over here,” the officer is seen saying into his radio.

The children curse at the officer and his partner throughout the five-minute video, which has been shared more than 47,000 times and has received more than 25,000 comments.

About 30 seconds into the video, another officer runs into the scene. Both officers then pull the boy, who was being held down by the first officer, to the ground.

While the boy is being handcuffed, the officer who earlier pointed the gun at the children, extends a nightstick. He yells at the crowd, which has grown, to get back.

The boy recording the video says, “It is all good. We are going to put a report on these two fools. It’s all good.”

He is then grabbed by the police officer but hands his phone to someone else and is handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car with the boy who had already been handcuffed.

A woman can be heard yelling curse words at the officers. An officer then approaches the woman, who runs away from the officer. He tells her "I know where you live." The woman tells the officer she doesn't care using an expletive and says, "I'll move."

The officer later begins arguing with a young boy and tells the boy “do something.” The officer, who is several feet taller than the boy, stands over the boy and continues to stare at him.

The boy is then grabbed by the officer and put up against the police vehicle.

The woman who is recording yells, “Just because he is my son, he is going to take him in. What a (expletive).”

The video does not show if the boy was arrested.

The crowd continues to scream curse words as more officers arrive at the scene.

The video ends with an officer coming up to the woman recording the video and asking for her contact information.

Officials declined to provide details about the department’s policies on officers pulling out their handguns or batons during incidents. The policy was not released Saturday.

The Internal Affairs investigation will look at whether the officer violated any department policies, Mack said.

"The whole investigation process with IA (Internal Affairs) will determine whether the officer followed protocol, look at all of the related incidents that surrounded that, take an opportunity to (do) interviews," Mack said. "And go through that entire process, so all the facts and data are gathered before any conclusions are drawn."

Andrea

08-03-2018, 06:55 AM

Detroit police officer suspended after video shows him repeatedly punching naked woman in a hospital

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/us/detroit-officer-suspended-punching-woman/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/us/detroit-officer-suspended-punching-woman/index.html)

A Detroit police officer has been suspended with pay after a bystander's video showed him punching a possibly mentally ill woman at least 10 times at a hospital, the police chief said.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig has called the video "very disturbing" and said a criminal investigation has been launched into the officer's use of force. But he also added the officer is entitled to due process. The department is not making any conclusions but observations, Craig said.

Craig did not publicly identify the officer in the video, and CNN has not been able to identify him or get comment from him or his attorney. CNN has reached out to the Detroit Police Officers Association for comment.
During a press conference Thursday, Craig detailed how the incident unfolded on Wednesday night.

The initial call

Craig said police responded to a "lewd and lascivious in progress" call around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. The woman was walking around the neighborhood naked, according to a report from CNN affiliate, WXYZ.

The woman was not agitated but passive, Craig said.

The officers did not handcuff the woman and Craig said that was among his concerns.

"We know from our training and experience anytime we transport someone, particularly if they are suffering from mental illness for their safety and for the officers' safety and the community's safety that we handcuff," he said.
The officers gave the woman a robe to cover herself and placed her in the car. They then took her to Detroit Receiving Hospital.

The incident took a turn

When the woman -- who has not been named -- arrived at the hospital she became agitated and took off the robe, Craig said. She spat on hospital employees, bit a security staffer twice, and tried to bite the officer who later repeatedly punched her, Craig said.

The bystander video shows the officer, his partner and two security guards trying to control the woman.

According to the chief, the incident took a turn when the woman turned her back toward the officer who had hit her.

"At that point we have grave concerns for the officer's actions," he said.
Officers should not continue to use "hard hands" on someone who turns their back, Craig said.

The video shows the officer continued to swing at her at least 10 times. The woman was treated for minor injuries and had bruises, the chief said.

Investigations ongoing

Craig said officials are in the process of downloading body camera footage and that video "tells a little bit of a different story." When asked about the video, the chief said use of force "never looks good" to the public.

But he said the bystander's video was troubling because officers are taught to de-escalate, and there are parts of the recording where it appeared the officer did not do that.

The bystander video was provided to a Detroit television station, which gave the footage to police on Wednesday.

Neither the officer -- described only as an 18-year veteran -- nor the person who recorded the video have been interviewed. But Craig said that members of the hospital staff were interviewed and confirmed the woman became agitated and aggressive. The staff did not comment on the officer's use of force, he said.

The police chief also said the suspended officer has had six minor use of force incidents before, the most recent in 2015.

Andrea

08-08-2018, 06:53 PM

Mom: 11-year-old handcuffed for bouncing basketball at JaxPAL gym

https://www.news4jax.com/news/mom-11-year-old-handcuffed-for-bouncing-basketball-at-jaxpal-gym (https://www.news4jax.com/news/mom-11-year-old-handcuffed-for-bouncing-basketball-at-jaxpal-gym)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Jacksonville mom said an overzealous police officer trying to teach her son a lesson put the 11-year-old in handcuffs when he wouldn't stop bouncing a basketball after a JaxPAL game.

JaxPAL is the city's Police Athletic League, which sponsors a youth basketball league.

Bunmi Borisade said her son was dribbling a ball Saturday in the JaxPAL gym on West 33rd Street when an officer asked him repeatedly to stop.

She said she was in another part of the gym and didn't witness the incident.

“A little girl came up to me and said, 'Hey, excuse me. Your son is being arrested for dribbling a basketball.' I said, 'You can’t be serious,'” Borisade said.

Fatayi Jomoh, an honor roll student, was not arrested, but he now knows what it feels like to be in handcuffs.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed Borisade's complaint was received by Internal Affairs on Tuesday and that it is being reviewed.

Borisade told JSO in her complaint that she believes the officer acted forcefully because she wasn't by her son's side.

“The officer who handcuffed my son looked at me and said, 'He was being disrespectful,'” Borisade said. “I said, 'Well, why didn’t you come and tell me? I’m his mom.'”

She said she understands Fatayi might have been “acting out,” but he didn’t deserve to be handcuffed and is now afraid of police, which is the opposite of JaxPAL's mission statement.

The league claims its goal is to create “positive relationships between law enforcement officers and the youth of our community through educational, athletic and leadership programs.”

Borisade said her son's opinion of police officers is anything but positive now.

“It’s ruined (my image of police) as well. I’m not going to lie and put on a show for the news,” Borisade said.

In the meantime, Fatayi said he wishes the officer would have given him a second chance.

News4Jax requested comment from JaxPAL’s leadership staff, and we are waiting to hear back.

Andrea

08-18-2018, 07:59 AM

76-year-old deaf woman sues Alameda County sheriff’s deputy for rough arrest

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/76-year-old-deaf-woman-sues-Alameda-County-13159009.php (https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/76-year-old-deaf-woman-sues-Alameda-County-13159009.php)

A deaf 76-year-old woman accused an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputy of excessive force during an alleged jaywalking incident last year, claiming the deputy “violently threw” her to the ground and handcuffed her to an ambulance while she was unconscious.

Attorneys for plaintiff Hui Jie Jin laid out the allegations in a lawsuit filed late last week in Northern District of California. The suit claims Jin suffered a permanent brain injury, along with contusions and abrasions, as a result of what her attorneys called an unlawful arrest.

Defendants named in the suit include sheriff’s Deputy Phillip Corvello, Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern, Alameda County and the city of Dublin. Corvello is contracted to work with the Dublin Police Department.

Nate Schmidt, a Dublin police captain, confirmed that the department conducted an internal investigation after the incident and found Corvello’s use of force to be within policy.

The department’s policy does not count jaywalking as an arrestable offense, Schmidt said, but “there was more than an arrest for jaywalking. Not obeying a lawful order is an arrestable offense, so that’s what we were looking at.”

Schmidt declined comment on the allegations in the civil suit but confirmed that Corvello is still employed by the agency.

Jin and Corvello encountered each other on the morning of July 21, 2017, when Jin was out shopping for groceries. The lawsuit claims that Corvello began yelling at Jin while she was allegedly jaywalking, but because Jin is “profoundly deaf” she couldn’t hear or understand his commands.

As Corvello moved closer to her, the suit alleges, Jin pointed to her ear with one hand and waved her hand back and forth with the other to signal that she was deaf.

“Despite recognizing that Mrs. Jin could not hear or understand him, Officer Corvello made no attempts to effectively communicate with Mrs. Jin at any point before or during her arrest,” the suit states.

More officers arrived on the scene and performed a search of Jin and her grocery bags, according to court documents, and during this time Jin emptied her pockets to hand Corvello her California identification card, disabled senior citizen bus pass, and a handwritten card with the name and phone number of Jin’s daughter for emergencies.

“Mrs. Jin was terrified, but at no point did she resist arrest or attempt to flee, nor could she due to her age and disabilities,” the complaint states. Jin prayed and repeatedly bowed in front of Corvello “in order to beg ... for mercy and not to hurt her.”

In response, the suit alleges, Corvello slammed the woman to the ground, placed a foot or knee behind her neck or back and handcuffed her. Jin passed out and was taken to the hospital via ambulance, according to the suit, which alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, negligence, and deprivation of Jin’s civil rights.

Jin was issued a citation for jaywalking and resisting arrest, but no paperwork exists and no charges were filed, the suit states.

Jin is seeking an unnamed amount in damages, as well as a training and policy overhaul on how the agencies handle people with hearing loss. A case management conference is scheduled for Nov. 26 at the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco.

Andrea

08-23-2018, 02:11 PM

St. Louis Police Officer Adam Feaman Charged in Flashlight Beating of Suspect

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/08/22/st-louis-police-officer-adam-feaman-charged-in-flashlight-beating-of-suspect (https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/08/22/st-louis-police-officer-adam-feaman-charged-in-flashlight-beating-of-suspect)

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney today filed felony charges against a city cop who cracked a retreating man's jaw with his flashlight.

Officer Adam Feaman, 40, was charged with second-degree assault and armed criminal action in the August 14, 2017, beating of Jamal White, court records show. A judge issued an at-large warrant for the officer today, and police say Feaman is not yet in custody.

As the RFT detailed last week in a story published in collaboration with the non-profit GRAM, Feaman was captured on video by a bystander as he confronted White, apparently for playing loud music on his car stereo.

As Feaman shouted he was under arrest, White broke into a nervous jog, questioning what he had done: "How am I under arrest?" When Feaman caught up to him, he struck White in the face, cracking his jaw. As White fell to the ground, Feaman again struck him in the back of the head with the flashlight, yelling, “Get on the fucking ground!”

As freelancer Clark Randall detailed in the story, Feaman had been the subject of numerous other complaints in recent years. In 2010, a 22-year-old black man filed a complaint alleging that Feaman pulled him over and used racial slurs against him. A year later, a 22-year-old black man complained that Feaman planted drugs on him, and that while Feaman arrested him, another officer hit him in the face multiple times.

In 2012, a 21-year-old black man filed a complaint alleging that Feaman had punched him in the face. Two years later, in 2014, a 31-year-old black man alleged that Officer Feaman and another officer stole $400 from his car during a traffic stop.

When asked if disciplinary actions had ever been taken against Officer Feaman, Sgt. Keith Barrett, a spokesman for the department, said those records were closed.

Attorney Jermaine Wooten obtained the video from the bystander. He filed suit against Feaman in federal court.

In the lawsuit, Wooten wrote that Feaman spotted White at a local bar or club on September 30, 2017, one month after the flashlight beating. Apparently having heard that White planned to sue him, he threatened to “crack [his] jaw again.” Feaman had to be escorted out.

Rather than explain himself in deposition, Feaman refused to answer any questions. (He also declined to answer whether he was invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, or explain why he was not answering.)

Wooten later dismissed the federal suit, but said he intends to refile in state court.

Feaman's bond was set at $30,000 cash, according to the warrant issued today.

Police refused to release his department photo but said his mug shot would be distributed once he has been arrested. He was suspended today from the force.

In a statement, the department said, "The Metropolitan Police Department fully cooperated with this investigation and is committed to ensuring the men and women of our Department are held to the highest standards. The Department will continue to be vigorous in our efforts to uphold these standards and hold any persons whose actions may compromise the integrity of the organization accountable."

Andrea

09-06-2018, 11:36 AM

Cincinnati police officer tases 11-year old suspected of shoplifting, tells her 'This is why there aren't any grocery stores in the black community'

https://abcnews.go.com/US/cincinnati-police-officer-tases-11-year-suspected-shoplifting/story?id=57635409 (https://abcnews.go.com/US/cincinnati-police-officer-tases-11-year-suspected-shoplifting/story?id=57635409)

Police in Cincinnati released bodycam video on Tuesday of an officer telling an 11-year-old girl, after he used a taser on her for allegedly shoplifting, that "this is why there aren’t any grocery stores in the Black community," an internal review showed.

The incident happened while police officer Kevin Brown was working "an outside employment extension of police services detail" at a Kroger’s grocery store on August 6, according to the Cincinnati Police Department.

Brown witnessed three girls attempting to shoplift items, the review, posted by ABC affiliate WCPO stated.

As all three tried to leave the store, Brown repeatedly asked them to stop. When they refused his commands, Brown deployed the taser at one of the girls, the internal review said.

Officer Brown did not turn on his bodycam video until after he tased the girl. After deploying the taser, Brown then placed her in handcuffs and escorted her to the back of the store, according to the use of force review of the incident.

"The last thing I want to do is tase you like that," Brown tells the girl in the video. "That hurt my heart to do that to you. Then I got to listen to all these idiots out here in the parking lot tell me how I was wrong for tasing you."

When Brown searched the girl's backpack, he found "clothing, and consumable goods which included food and beverage" which was worth just over $53, the review said.

The items included "candy and beef jerky, as well as infant clothing," according to the report. The backpack also belonged to the Kroger's, the review stated.

The girl told the officer that she "took a backpack but the two other juveniles placed items in the bag," the internal review said.

The girl was later taken to the Children’s Hospital Medical Center for evaluation, and then released, according to Cincinnati police.

The use of force review of the incident found that Brown violated several department rules including using a TASER without giving a verbal warning he was about to do so, using a TASER when not reasonably necessary and expressing prejudice concerning race.

After ordering the girl several times to stop and show him a receipt for her purchases, Brown used his TASER on her, according to the review. One barb from the weapon hit her in the back, and another hit her below the waist, documents showed. She then fell to the ground, after which Brown handcuffed her and brought her back into the store.

Brown knew the girl "did not appear to be a threat to himself or others," the review stated. It also says that "Brown was referencing the closing of a number of Kroger stores in black communities, which he believed resulted from large amounts of theft losses."

Brown had been placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of the investigation, according to police.

Brown now will face a pre-disciplinary hearing, ABC Affiliate WCPO reported.

Cincinnati Police Union President Dan Hils defended Brown.

"I think the officer was trying to express to this juvenile suspect that there are consequences, not only to herself, but to others when you don’t respect the property rights of another," Hils said in a statement to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Andrea

09-07-2018, 02:58 PM

Harlem Restaurant Owner Is Suing The NYPD For Arresting Him After Helping White Patrons

https://www.essence.com/news/nypd-clyde-pemberton-lawsuit/ (https://www.essence.com/news/nypd-clyde-pemberton-lawsuit/)

Clyde Pemberton never expected to be arrested in his own restaurant, but that’s exactly what happened to the Harlem business owner.

According to a new federal lawsuit, Pemberton and two of his employees say they were racially profiled and falsely detained by New York Police Department officers following a bizarre scene in his establishment, MIST Harlem.

The New York Times reports:

“On June 1, 2017, Dr. Pemberton, a retired psychiatrist, was holding a business meeting at his restaurant when he saw two women leaving the bathroom, dragging a third woman who was visibly unconscious across the room at 10:30 p.m., the complaint states. The women, who were all white, knocked over a stanchion of a rope blocking off a section of the restaurant to customers.

“When Dr. Pemberton, now 68, walked over to the women to ask what was wrong and suggested the unconscious woman be placed in a chair, one woman punched him in the chest and referred to him with a racial slur, according to the complaint.”

While Pemberton and his employees, Christian Baptiste and Thomas Debnam, say they were all assaulted by the women, when police arrived they were the ones who found themselves in custody.

The New York Times explains, “One of the arresting officers, Anthony Sengco, wrote in his criminal complaint that he observed Dr. Pemberton, Mr. Baptiste and Mr. Debnam blocking the exit to the restaurant and that the men had stated to him that they were trying to prevent the women from leaving. The men deny that they made any such statements to Mr. Sengco or that they were trying to prevent the women from leaving.”

The men were charged with unlawful imprisonment and spent six hours in custody. Last November, however, the charges were dropped. Still, the traumatic ordeal has left a lasting imprint on them.

“Everything we did was in the right way and approach, and it was overlooked, ignored and disrespected, our rights as human beings,” Debnam said. “There’s a flaw in our system.”

Pemberton, a legal immigrant from Trinidad, said he’s had trouble traveling in and out of the country since his arrest, even though the charges were dismissed.

“We thought it was over,” Pemberton said, noting police have stepped up their presence at his restaurant, which he said is hurting business.

Though one of the women involved was also arrested and charged with assault with intent to cause physical injury, Pemberton’s attorney said police mishandled the incident.

“You don’t just arrest everybody on the scene and sort it out later,” Elizabeth Saylor, a civil rights lawyer, said. “They are privileged Black men who have money and the resources to fight this, but despite that it deeply affected them.”

Andrea

09-09-2018, 09:38 AM

SEE IT: Cop curses out methadone patients in SoHo, yelling 'Go shoot your f------ heroin and die!'

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-metro-video-cop-curses-people-out-20180907-story.html# (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-metro-video-cop-curses-people-out-20180907-story.html#)

An NYPD cop with his gun drawn cursed out men outside a clinic in SoHo, screaming “Shoot your f------ heroin and die!” according to a shocking video.

The clip shows the officer with his gun drawn but at his side as he approaches the group near the corner of Prince and Crosby streets.

“Taking a f------ walk right now!” the cop screams as he holsters his weapon. “I’ll knock you the f--- out.”

He storms off without arresting anyone, and hollers “Go shoot your f------ heroin and die!” the video shows.

The footage is believed to be recorded on Aug. 31, a few hours before it popped up on Facebook and Twitter.

“ALERT NYC!” wrote the Twitter user with the handle Antifa Seven Hills. “This officer responded to a minor scuffle at a methadone clinic in SOHO today with his gun out & ready to use on folks seeking help. He then told these human beings to ‘shoot your f----- heroin and die.’”

“IDENTIFY THIS PIG!” the group pleaded.

The closest methadone clinic to the scene is about two blocks away at Lafayette St. and Spring St.

An NYPD spokeswoman said that the cop’s commanding officer has been made aware of the situation and was investigating.

Andrea

09-20-2018, 03:34 PM

Two Miami cops were filmed kicking people’s heads. Only one was punished.

http://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article218652085.html?__twitter_impression=true (http://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article218652085.html?__twitter_impression=true)

Police officers used excessive force in separate instances when they were caught on video kicking suspects in the head, a civilian panel tasked with watching over Miami police determined this week.

But only one of the officers has been disciplined by the police department and prosecutors for the kick. The difference, according to Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel: The officer who was suspended and charged with a crime was caught kicking at a suspected car thief’s head on cellphone video recorded by a civilian.

In the other case, an internal review found no wrongdoing despite clear video of the officer twice using the heel of his shoe to stomp on the head of a female teenaged armed robbery suspect while she was lying on the ground. But video of that incident only came to light several months after the incident, when a virtual policing unit retrieved it for trial and became alarmed enough to pass it along to supervisors.

Miami police officer John Askew was cleared of any wrongdoing by Internal Affairs after police body-cam video surfaced of him using force to subdue an armed robbery suspect. Now a civilian oversight panel thinks something should be done about it.

The difference in how police responded to the cases, some CIP members concluded, shows what a powerful tool bystander cellphone videos have become in capturing the actions of officers — actions that in the past were rarely seen by the public.

Elisabeth Albert, a CIP investigator with two decades of policing experience, told panel members the bodycam video would never have been discovered if not for the action of the virtual policing unit. Unlike how the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office dealt with the highly publicized cellphone video, the bodycam footage was passed back to the police department and treated as an in-house administrative matter.

“It was handled differently without the video out there,” Albert said.

The first incident involved the May 3 arrest of David Suazo, 31, who eventually pleaded guilty and agreed to 30 months in prison for grand theft auto, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and fleeing from police. According to police and investigators from the CIP, police were watching Suazo’s home when he emerged and started driving a 2000 Jeep Cherokee that had been reported stolen in Broward County.

Police said they followed Suazo to Overtown and when they turned on their sirens he sped up toward the Culmer Apartments, crashed the vehicle into a wall and fled on foot. Police bodycam footage captured some officers, who couldn’t leap a spiked metal fence in a courtyard to get to Suazo, running through apartments.

At one point, officer Mario Figueroa confronted Suazo through the fence and fired his Taser, which had no effect. Then, after another officer subdued Suazo on the grass — lying on his stomach, his hands cuffed behind his back — Figueroa is seen racing toward him and delivering a running kick to the suspect’s head. Suazo appears to move his head in the video and Figueroa’s kick appears to miss its target.

Despite at least three officers wearing body cameras, none of them captured the kick. Figueroa claimed his camera fell off his uniform as he was running toward Suazo. The video, taken by a former Florida International University student who lives in the complex, received substantial play after she posted it on her Facebook page and sent a copy to Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina.

Colina immediately declared that the video “depicts a clear violation of policy” and suspended the two-year cop with pay pending the outcome of an investigation. Five days later, state prosecutors, who have rarely filed criminal cases against officers, charged Figueroa with assault. Figueroa said he thought the officer was struggling to subdue Suazo and was going to kick him to get him to comply, but changed direction of the kick in mid-stream when he realized Suazo was not resisting.

“What he did land was intent. The intent to me does way more damage,” said CIP member Courtney Omega. The board voted unanimously that Figueroa used excessive force.

The second incident was more contentious for CIP members, with some arguing that the officer had the right to fear for his life when he saw a dark object fly by while trying to subdue a woman suspected of armed robbery. That object turned out to be her blue flip-flop.

It was February 2017 when police received a call saying an armed man had stolen a woman’s purse from her car at Northwest Seventh Avenue and 71st Street and then fled in a car. Police spotted the car and gave chase. It eventually crashed in Miami Shores at Northwest Second Court and 94th Street. The driver bailed and jumped a fence. But when police found a teenaged girl who had been in the car behind a patrol car, they began chasing her.

Bodycam video worn by one officer shows another officer taking the girl, known only as TJ, to the ground, then losing control of her and rolling away. That’s when Miami police officer John Askew is spotted running toward the girl with what appears to be a Taser in one hand and a radio in the other. With TJ on the ground, Askew twice stomps on her head with the heel of his right shoe.

“Move again, I dare you,” he’s heard saying while handcuffing her.

When the video is slowed, the dark object turned out to be her flip-flop flying in the air as Askew approaches her. There was no mention of the object initially by Askew in his report. But several months later, after viewing it prior to his internal affairs investigation, the officer claimed he feared it was the weapon used in the crime. State prosecutors who viewed the video passed it back to police, saying the issue should be dealt with administratively. Police found no wrongdoing with Askew’s actions.

He was eventually suspended a week without pay but for not filling out a use-of-force memo, which is required any time an officer uses force. Askew told internal affairs investigators he didn’t consider the episode to be a use-of-force.

Some CIP members — who are appointed by city commissioners, the mayor and police chief — said despite no known police training that involves kicking, anything goes in hand-to-hand combat, especially when police fear a suspect still has control of a weapon used in a crime.

CIP member Stephen Navarrete said he watched the video two dozen times and broke it down frame-by-frame. He said Askew only saw her behind the patrol car at the last moment and had the right to use force to subdue her, especially because he didn’t know where the weapon was and he saw a dark object fly past. The gun was eventually found in the backseat of the car that the suspects crashed.

“It looked bad. It looked ugly. But when she went down there was no control of her. He used his feet to control her. He thought she may have had the gun,” Navarrete said. “But before you vote tonight I think it’s important to remember this was an armed robbery. Anybody can pull a trigger.”

Other members, though, weren’t buying Navarrete’s narrative.

“This is like setting community policing back 30 years,” said panel member Deidria Davis.

Offered Minca Brantely: “It’s pretty obvious, you don’t kick people in the head. I teach that to my 7-year-old.”

The state eventually dropped all charges against TJ. The CIP panel voted 8-3, saying Askew used excessive force. Navarrete, Alvaro Puente and Noel Rojas were in the minority.

Now, CIP Executive Director Cristina Beamud will pen a letter to Colina arguing Askew should be disciplined for the kicks. Colina is not likely to do much. His office already said nothing will be done unless the panel finds new evidence that internal affairs hasn’t already taken into consideration.

The panel also voted to let Colina know that the video of the Miami officer driving over a grassy swale and a sidewalk and of Askew kicking the suspect should be used as a training video for Miami police — on how not to take a suspect into custody.

Andrea

10-14-2018, 07:28 AM

Members Of A Far-Right Men’s Group Violently Beat Up Protesters And Weren’t Arrested. New York Police Won’t Say Why.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes-protest?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc (https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes-protest?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc)

Far-right men’s organization “Proud Boys” violently beat two or three apparent protesters Friday night following a Republican event in Manhattan.

About 30 members of the group — describe themselves as "Western chauvinists" and have frequently aligned themselves with avowed neo-Nazis — participated in the beating, some screaming threats and slurs at the individuals, according to video and an eyewitness account.

Although New York Police Department officers were present at the time of the attack, none of the Proud Boys were arrested for the beatdown.

However, separately, three other protesters were arrested for attacking a person leaving the event.

Police have not yet explained why there were no arrests made in the assault on the protesters, despite multiple inquiries by BuzzFeed News Saturday. The NYPD later released a statement saying that it was reviewing video and evidence to determine if additional crimes were committed.

"There is no tolerance for violence anywhere in New York City, and the NYPD will do everything in its power to ensure public safety," the statement said.

The beating followed a speech at the Metropolitan Republican Club by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnis, in which he reenacted the samurai sword assassination of Japanese socialist leader Inejiro Asanuma, calling it an “inspiring moment.” The club advertised the event on its Facebook page saying, “Banned from Twitter — this Godfather of the Hipster Movement has taken on and exposed the Deep State Socialists and stood up for Western Values.”

McInnes, who was also a cofounder of Vice Media, has been suspended from Twitter in August, along with the group’s main account, @ProudBoysUSA, for violating its policy on “violent extremist groups.”

Ahead of Friday's event, the Metropolitan Republican Club’s headquarters had been vandalized with anarchist symbols and broken windows and doors, according to the New York Times. There was a note left that said that the vandalism was related to McInnes’s upcoming appearance.

“Last night the Metropolitan Republican Club was vandalized by the leftist hate group Antifa, who also left a note promising ‘this is just the beginning’ and threatening more violence,” the group posted to Facebook.
youtube.com

Shay Horse, a 25-year-old photojournalist from Brooklyn who was at the scene, told BuzzFeed News that the incident started after police escorted the event attendees — which included the Proud Boys — out of the building at the conclusion of the event.

McInnes was not present for the melee and had been escorted out earlier, carrying the samurai sword, and driven away by a car waiting outside the venue.

“There was a big group of like 30 of them, and they came out grunting…trying to hype each other up,” Horse said. The photojournalist said that police walked them only as far as the corner and did not make them disperse.

The NYPD said that police officers had been assigned to monitor the protest outside of the Metropolitan Republican Club on East 83rd Street and that there were no incidents at that location.

The beating occurred about two blocks away.

Horse said he saw “two or three bodies on the ground” and the Proud Boys all beating them in a group.

Members of the Proud Boys told Horse the brawl began when the protesters knocked a “Make America Great Again” hat off a member’s head.

“I heard them screaming and swearing at some guy on the ground,” Horse said. “They were beating the shit out of him and kicking him in the head. One guy had his foot on the guy’s neck.”

The Proud Boys also screamed slurs and threats at the people on the ground, Horse said. “One dude started screaming, ‘Do you feel brave now, faggot?’” he said.

Horse said he saw one of the victims’ faces was swollen and “was totally on the ground, couldn’t even talk...they just had their limbs up in a half-guard.”

“It was just a pummeling — it wasn’t really a fight, because the three people never really got a chance to even stand up,” he said.

Then, a police officer rolled up on a scooter and “just went totally slack-jawed and stared at the fight,” Horse said.

Horse said he yelled “Do something!” at the cop, who then “ran into the crowd flailing his arms saying ‘that’s enough, that’s enough.’”

The Proud Boys then peeled off — without being arrested or questioned by police — and made their way to a bar downtown. The people who were beaten hobbled off with their arms around each other for support, Horse said.

Three men were arrested nearby, in what appears to have been a separate clash following the Proud Boys event. In a tweet, senior Legal Aid staff attorney Rebecca Kavanagh suggested that the men arrested had been "anti-racist protestors" demonstrating the McInnis event.

NYPD told BuzzFeed News that at around 8:40 p.m. Friday, the officers saw the three men assaulting someone a few blocks from the event at East 84th Street and Third Avenue.

Police said they would not “confirm any known group association or whether or not they attended the event you reference or attack on anyone who did attend.”

The men, identified as Caleb Perkins, 35, Kai Russo, 20, and Finbarr Slonim, 20, were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Saturday. All three individuals face two counts of assault and one count each of larceny, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment, according to court documents. Perkins also faces one count of resisting arrest.

According to court documents, Perkins, Russo, and Slonim struck the victim in the face and that another man who was not arrested took the victim's backpack. The victim refused medical attention and is cooperating with police, the complaint states.

Gavin Wax, publisher of the online news site the Schpiel who attended the Proud Boys event and witnessed the alleged assault by the protesters, told BuzzFeed News he and a friend were walking toward the subway when they saw two masked individuals approach a man "who was backpedaling with his fists up" on Third Avenue.

"He was sweating. He had bruises on his face and he was calling for help," Wax said.

Wax said he and his friend then ran over and "split them up." At that point, Wax said, the victim yelled out that another man who was nearby with several others had his backpack and ran toward the group.

"He ran and they chased and we chased," Wax said.

Wax said they ended up at the corner of 84th and Third where the assailants started chanting, "He's a Nazi, he's a Nazi. Don't defend him."

Police arrived and arrested three individuals, while others ran off, Wax said.

Wax's friend Jake Freijo corroborated his account and told BuzzFeed News the victim was visibly "distraught" and had "a few contact marks on his face" that were purplish in color "turning to black and blue."

"He was very overwhelmed and he asked us to help him," Freijo said.

Moira Meltzer-Cohen, an attorney for Perkins, Russo, and Slonim, told BuzzFeed News Saturday that she does not "believe that the allegations are going to hold water" after an investigation into Friday's incidents. She declined to comment further.

NYPD ignored multiple emails from BuzzFeed News asking why Proud Boys members were not arrested for the violent assault, while protesters were. In a phone call following up on BuzzFeed's emails, police said they are “researching a response.”

Several New York elected officials — all Democrats — expressed outrage over the violence, and called on the NYPD and the New York City District Attorney's office to take action against the Proud Boys, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"Authorities must review these videos immediately and make arrests and prosecute as appropriate," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "Hate cannot and will not be tolerated in New York."

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson also called on the police department to thoroughly investigate the incident.

"NYC needs to send a message that violence and bigotry are not welcome anywhere in America and certainly not in the five boroughs," Johnson said on Twitter.

And New York Public Advocate Letitia James called on the NYPD to arrest all the Proud Boys involved in the beating.

"I am disturbed and disgusted by the videos I’ve seen of members of the neo-fascist, white supremacist Proud Boys group engaging in hate-fueled mob violence on the streets of New York City," James said. "New York will not become the next Charlottesville, and we refuse to let the actions of a hateful few define our City."

James said she would also urge the District Attorney to pursue hate crime charges due to "the clear homophobic and anti-immigrant sentiments expressed in the videos."

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood echoed the sentiments, saying on Twitter that "hate has no place in New York."

"This warrants immediate and thorough investigation by the NYPD to bring the perpetrators to justice," Underwood said. Her office declined to comment further.

Andrea

10-18-2018, 08:24 AM

Police Officer Fired After He’s Filmed Telling People He’s ‘Trigger-Happy’

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/police-fired-trigger-happy_us_5bc843c1e4b0d38b58752277?ncid=tweetlnkush pmg00000067 (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/police-fired-trigger-happy_us_5bc843c1e4b0d38b58752277?ncid=tweetlnkush pmg00000067)

A police officer was fired after being caught on camera threatening a crowd of people to back away because he was “trigger happy.”

The decision to let Officer Stephen Barone go was the result of both internal investigations and a formal hearing process following the August incident as well as a July traffic incident, Hartford, Connecticut, Police Chief David Rosado said in a statement Wednesday.

“I did not make this decision lightly,” Rosado said. “After reviewing the findings related to these two incidents, it’s clear to me that there’s no scenario in which Mr. Barone can return to his duties as a productive member of the Hartford Police Department.”

The video, shot by one of the men Barone stopped, captured him telling a group suspected of trespassing, “If anybody wants to fight or run, I’m a little trigger-happy, guys, I’m not gonna lie.”

He added that he wouldn’t be eligible for overtime if he shoots someone, claiming he’d lose $70,000 and would have to sell his home and his cars. “So don’t do anything stupid. All right?”

The group was stopped around 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 9 outside of an abandoned building. Officers searched them for contraband and gave them tickets for trespassing. One of the suspects can be heard calling Barone’s words “spooky.”

The investigation concluded that Barone, who is white, didn’t violate the civil rights of the group, who are mostly black and Hispanic. But community leaders and pastors told the Hartford Courant that the incident highlighted problems that arise with a mostly white police department that doesn’t reflect the makeup of the city.

“He had a weapon. His badge gave him a lot of authority. And he abused it,” Abdul Shahid Ansari, president of the Greater Hartford branch of the NAACP, told the Courant.

The investigation also determined that Barone never called off a police chase in July. He was demoted in September while the police department investigated his conduct, a move he appealed.

Barone said in an internal affairs interview that he could have used “a better choice of words,” but maintained that they were “effective in maintaining control.”

Andrea

10-27-2018, 09:02 AM

Body cam footage: A grand jury cleared this officer in the shooting of a jaywalker

https://www.circa.com/story/2018/10/26/nation/body-cam-footage-a-grand-jury-cleared-this-officer-in-the-shooting-of-a-jaywalker (https://www.circa.com/story/2018/10/26/nation/body-cam-footage-a-grand-jury-cleared-this-officer-in-the-shooting-of-a-jaywalker)

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. (KTVL) — The district attorney for Oregon's Jackson County released body camera footage from a September officer-involved shooting on Friday.

Officer Daniel Cardenas fatally shot Matthew Graves on Sept. 19 in the bathroom of the Eagle Point Carl's Jr. restaurant.

During this week's grand jury proceedings, Cardenas testified that backup Officer CJ Davis alerted him to what he thought was Graves holding a firearm, but that actually turned out to be Cardenas' own Taser.

Cardenas fired two shots, killing Graves. Five of the seven jurors concluded that the officer's actions did not violate the law. The Eagle Point Police Department conducted an internal investigation into the shooting and found no wrongful action on the part of the officers involved.

Southern Oregon University criminal justice professor Tiffany Morey says that even with body camera video, what the public sees afterward may be different than what the officer feels in the moment.

"When it goes to grand jury to see if it was a justified shooting, it is what that officer was experiencing at that time," Morey said. "What did the officer see? What did the officer feel? Did the officer feel that their life, or possibly one of the citizens that they're protecting's life was at jeopardy?"

She says that body cameras can shed meaningful light on an incident and should be used, but it must be remembered that they only capture action at one angle, and can't always convey what the officer perceives in the moment.

A use-of-force expert who testified echoed that notion, saying that the adrenaline can impact an officer's ability to process information, and it is reasonable that in the moment a taser could be mistaken for a gun.

Cardenas and Davis are cleared to go back to work and the case is closed.

The body cam footage was released unedited, however KTVL chose not to show the second half of the video due to its graphic nature. The first 4 minutes, 44 seconds of the video play uninterrupted with only the audible swearing bleeped over. A complete transcript of Officer Cardenas' body camera was also written.

Andrea

11-03-2018, 10:12 AM

Two Indiana Police Officers to be Charged After Video Shows Them Beating Handcuffed Man

https://www.propublica.org/article/elkhart-police-charges-tk?token=mEv2NmfUQDFn1rsX0e4aLy4sL9WqeQ2Y&utm_campaign=sprout&utm_source=social&utm_medium=video&utm_term=twitter (https://www.propublica.org/article/elkhart-police-charges-tk?token=mEv2NmfUQDFn1rsX0e4aLy4sL9WqeQ2Y&utm_campaign=sprout&utm_source=social&utm_medium=video&utm_term=twitter)

Two Elkhart, Indiana, police officers who punched a handcuffed man in the face more than 10 times will face criminal charges — 11 months after the fact, and only after The South Bend Tribune requested video of the incident as part of an ongoing investigation with ProPublica.

The two officers, Cory Newland and Joshua Titus, will be charged with misdemeanor counts of battery, the police department announced Friday. Both have been placed on administrative leave pending the case’s outcome, department spokesman Sgt. Travis Snider said.

The department also released the video of the beating after 5 p.m. Friday — more than three weeks after The Tribune requested a copy.

Five months ago, the two officers were disciplined for this incident. But they received reprimands rather than suspensions or possible termination.

Speaking to the city’s civilian oversight commission in June, Police Chief Ed Windbigler said the officers used “a little more force than needed” with a suspect in custody, and “just went a little overboard when they took him to the ground.” But Windbigler offered no other details, saying nothing of the two officers punching the man in the face.
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The video was recorded in the police station’s detention area after the Jan. 12 arrest of Mario Guerrero Ledesma, who was 28 at the time. The footage shows Ledesma, in handcuffs, sitting in a chair while Newland, Titus and two other officers stand nearby. At one point, Ledesma prepares to spit at Newland, and the officer warns him not to.

As Ledesma spits, Newland and Titus immediately tackle him, and the back of Ledesma’s head strikes the concrete floor. The two officers then jump on him and punch him in the face repeatedly while one calls him a “piece of shit.”

Two other officers walk up casually as the punches are being thrown. “Stop,” one can be heard saying, as the beating ends.

Ledesma pleaded guilty in July to charges of domestic battery and resisting law enforcement, and was sentenced to a year in jail, with 133 days suspended.

The Tribune and ProPublica have been investigating criminal justice in Elkhart County, looking at police accountability, among other issues.

A Tribune reporter requested the Ledesma video after noting a disparity between Windbigler’s public description to the Police Merit Commission — the city panel that exercises civilian oversight — and what the chief wrote in personnel records.

In a June 12 letter of reprimand to Newland, Windbigler wrote: “I completely understand defending yourself during an altercation. However, striking a handcuffed subject in the face is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. We cannot let our emotions direct our reactions or over-reactions to situations such as this.”

The personnel files provided by the police department did not include any response from Newland or Titus to the disciplinary allegations.

Windbigler ended his disciplinary letters to both officers on an upbeat note: “I consider this matter closed!”

At the June 25 meeting of the Police Merit Commission, chairman James Rieckhoff asked Windbigler if anyone had been injured in this incident.

“No,” Windbigler said.

Windbigler, explaining why he opted for only reprimands, told the commission that Titus “had no previous complaints.” He said of Newland: “Here, again, he had no other incidents in his file, so this is his first incident of any type of force.”

“Any questions on this one?” Rieckhoff asked the commission’s other members.

“Just a comment,” commissioner Thomas Barber said. “I like how you police your own.”

“Yes, sir,” Windbigler said.

On Friday, The Tribune requested an interview with the chief, but Snider, the police spokesman, said the department would have no further comment beyond its announcement of the pending charges.

Neither Newland nor Titus immediately returned messages left at their department phone lines. Efforts to reach them at other phone numbers were also unsuccessful.

History of Misconduct

For Newland, the reprimand was not his first disciplinary incident. It was his ninth, according to personnel records gathered by The Tribune and ProPublica.

After being hired in 2008, Newland was suspended six times and reprimanded twice in his first five years.

In 2009, Newland was “very rude and unprofessional,” using profanity toward a member of the public while responding to a call, personnel records say. The police chief at the time, Dale Pflibsen, suspended Newland for one day. “You have been employed for just over one year and this is not the first allegation of you verbally loosing (sic) control towards the public,” Pflibsen wrote to Newland.

“I want to emphasize we will not tolerate this behavior from you towards anyone,” Pflibsen added. “If you plan on continuing your career at the Elkhart Police Department I suggest you seek counseling for anger management.”

The next year, in 2010, Newland was suspended one day for causing a car crash.

In 2011, Newland received a three-day suspension for conduct unbecoming an officer. After arresting a woman for public nudity — she and her boyfriend were having sex in their car, in Elkhart’s McNaughton park — Newland sent her a friend request on Facebook and seven text messages, asking to “hang out.”

“Needless to say you attempting to establish a relationship with this female, a defendant in a criminal case, is unprofessional,” Pflibsen wrote to Newland. “This type of conduct will not be tolerated by you or anyone else.”

One year later, in February 2012, Newland was suspended again, this time for one day. Newland, while off duty, flipped off another driver — who, it turned out, was a jail officer in St. Joseph County, according to a disciplinary letter. Newland also drove recklessly, “brake checking” the other driver, according to disciplinary records.

“Should there be another sustained allegation of this type of misconduct on or off duty I will seriously consider your termination from the Elkhart Police Department,” Pflibsen wrote to Newland.

Exactly one week later, still in February, Newland received a three-day suspension for not turning on his video-audio recording equipment “while on numerous calls and traffic stops,” a disciplinary notice says.

Newland’s last suspension — and his longest, for 35 days — came in the summer of 2013. Newland failed to investigate a woman’s complaint of domestic violence, then lied about it to his superiors, according to disciplinary records.

When asked directly by supervisors if the woman had said her husband hit her, Newland “indicated that she had not made any such statement, and only that there was some pushing involved,” a disciplinary letter said. But “within minutes of the end of the interview,” Newland “returned and informed his supervisors that the victim had, in fact, reported being hit by her husband.”

An audio recording captured the woman telling Newland she had been hit, and that her husband did so in front of her children, a disciplinary letter says.

Newland’s failure to be truthful did more than violate department policy, Pflibsen wrote to the civilian oversight board. If a police officer testifies as a witness, authorities must disclose if the officer “has been dishonest in his or her official capacity,” Pflibsen wrote, adding: “This incident has been referred to the Prosecutor’s Office and may have a significant detrimental impact on their ability to prosecute this case.”

Andrea

11-03-2018, 10:13 AM

How did Joe Arpaio manage to lose fully automatic assault weapons?

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2018/11/01/joe-arpaio-managed-lose-assault-weapons-yeah-thats-not-good/1848778002/ (https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2018/11/01/joe-arpaio-managed-lose-assault-weapons-yeah-thats-not-good/1848778002/)

Be on the lookout for 27 guns, some of them fully automatic weapons, lost by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

It seems that while then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio was running all over the county chasing brown people and running all over Hawaii chasing Barack Obama’s birth certificate and running from TV station to TV station chasing publicity, pieces of his agency’s arsenal were walking out the door.

Two of those weapons were found this week, used to shoot and wound three Department of Public Safety officers during a rush-hour shoot-out on Interstate 17, near Seventh Street.

Let me say that again: a high-powered rifle used to shoot DPS officers belonged to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
Rifle was missing for at least 3 years

Sheriff Paul Penzone says the rifle, and one other MCSO gun found in the suspect’s car, were last seen sometime between 2010 and 2015. Nobody knows where they went or how MCSO lost them.

He said that an 2016 audit shows 27 other weapons, some of them fully automatic, still are out there, somewhere.

"The fact that any dangerous individual in our community can acquire possess and use fully automatic weapons ... is unacceptable and intolerable," Penzone said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Arpaio seemed not all that concerned.

"Vaguely remember there were some weapons unaccounted for,” he said in a statement to ABC15. “I'm sure my staff looked into it and took whatever action necessary."

No doubt.

Really, should we be surprised?

I guess we shouldn’t be so surprised at this particular display of Arpaio-era department discipline. This is what you get when you have a politician rather than a professional cop running a law enforcement agency.

A sheriff who obsessed about our security with all those dishwashers and gardeners running about even as MCSO machine guns were walking out the back door.

Penzone has vowed to investigate how the suspect, who was killed in Monday's shootout, got the guns and to tighten controls to ensure that that more weaponry doesn't disappear only to someday surface and be used to shoot police … or you or me.

Meanwhile, there are 27 MCSO guns, some of them fully automatic, out there, somewhere.

Andrea

11-08-2018, 09:50 PM

Former JPD officer found guilty of assault after 2017 incident

http://www.wlbt.com/2018/11/08/former-jpd-officer-found-guilty-assault-after-incident/ (http://www.wlbt.com/2018/11/08/former-jpd-officer-found-guilty-assault-after-incident/)

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - A Hinds County judge finds former Jackson police officer Justin Roberts guilty of assault.

In 2017, Roberts was recorded by cell phone making an arrest and seen punching and kicking a handcuffed man.
Former Jackson Police officer Justin Robert was seen on cell phone camera hitting and kicking a handcuffed man. He was later fired from JPD but found work at Jackson State University as a campus police officer.
Former Jackson Police officer Justin Robert was seen on cell phone camera hitting and kicking a handcuffed man. He was later fired from JPD but found work at Jackson State University as a campus police officer.

Roberts arrested LaDarius Brown and according to his attorney, Carlos Moore, suffers memory loss and headaches since the violent encounter. The former police officer faces a $500 fine and seven days in jail suspended.

“We’re so glad that the prosecutor, Mr. Mumford, was able to get a conviction today. $500, a fine of $500, seven days jail, even though it was suspended -- that’s significant in that most officers get nothing," said Moore. “Those blows, caught on video tape, were brutal. My client did nothing wrong and was never found guilty for any infraction.”

Roberts was fired from JPD after the video of him kicking and punching a man surfaced on Facebook. He is currently employed at Jackson State University as a campus police officer -- which also worries the attorney.

“I am very worried," said Moore. "In 2013, I also represent Adrian Jackson. He was shot by Justin Roberts when he was a security guard. So he shot my guy Adrian Johnson in the back several times. In 2017, he does this to this guy (Brown), while he’s in handcuffs. What does he have to do before they take a gun from this man?

Francis Springer, the attorney for the former embattled officer sees the action fit the situation and that the Roberts was just doing his job.

“We’re going to probably appeal this. We’re looking at that," said Springer. “Every action and every blow that was taken there was justified and of course police work is brutal. That’s why officers carry guns, that’s why they carry tasers, that’s why they carry handcuffs, because it is brutal.”

Andrea

11-08-2018, 09:54 PM

Kentucky jail video shows officer slamming inmate to floor

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/11/07/kenton-county-jail-investigates-brutality-claim-inmate/1889759002/http:// (https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/11/07/kenton-county-jail-investigates-brutality-claim-inmate/1889759002/http://)

Newly released body camera footage shows a Northern Kentucky corrections officer slamming an inmate to the floor.

Corrections Officer David Nussbaum said in his incident report that Kenton County jail inmate Steven Jordan was disobeying orders.

Jordan says Nussbaum used excessive force.

The incident – which left Jordan with a large gash above his right eye – was captured on another officer's body camera. It is unclear from the video what prompted the scuffle, but Jordan and Nussbaum can be seen facing each other at the start.

Nussbaum pushes Jordan, who rocks back on his heels. Nussbaum then slams Jordan to the floor.

"What the f---, man?" Jordan cries. “Ow! Ow! Ow! What the hell did I do?”

A second officer handcuffs Jordan, and he is told several times to be quiet as he is lying face-down, blood pooling under his head. Jordan continues to swear, saying he needs to go to the hospital.

“You busted the s--- out of my head,” he says at one point.

At another, he says to Nussbaum, “That was a little obsessive, man," to which an officer - it's not clear which - replies, “Not at all.”

Jailer Terry Carl said he is investigating the incident. He would not say whether Nussbaum is on leave.

Nussbaum could not be reached for comment, but in the incident report, he said he told Jordan to stop looking through his bag of property.

"Inmate Jordan refused my verbal instructions and said, 'F--- you,' " Nussbaum said. He said Jordan slapped away his hand after Nussbaum grabbed Jordan's wrist.

Nussbaum said he tried to push Jordan against a wall. Then, because of Jordan's "aggressive" stance and his continued attempts to pull away, "I wrapped my arms around inmate Jordan's torso and muscled him to the floor."

Other officers corroborated Nussbaum's statement.

Jordan, 28, in a statement provided to The Enquirer, said he was simply looking through his property bag when Nussbaum confronted him.

"I was slamed (sic) against the wall and to the floor ... for no reason other than trying to explane (sic) myself," Jordan wrote.

He acknowledged he "exchanged words" with Nussbaum, but Jordan's mother, Pennie Tackett, of Taylor Mill, said Nussbaum was retaliating against her son because he complained about Nussbaum the day before.

In that complaint, Jordan said that Nussbaum, while driving inmates back to the jail from the courthouse, was braking the vehicle repeatedly, causing inmates to bounce around in the back.

Nussbaum started working for the Kenton County Detention Center in 2008 and was assigned to the jail's court team in 2011.

He got several positive evaluations but over the years was reprimanded for tardiness; for arguing with a police officer at the Covington F.O.P Lodge; and for interfering with a Dayton, Kentucky, police investigation that involved his brother.

In 2013, Nussbaum was suspended without pay for 10 days after a fist fight with another deputy.

In 2017, he was arrested in Florence for driving under the influence of alcohol. An evaluation from that same year notes he was "quick to go defensive and argue with others."

In June of this year, Nussbaum was given a written warning after he failed to turn on his body camera to record an incident with an inmate.

Jordan, who has struggled with addiction for several years, was in jail on a meth-possession charge and was in the process of being released to go to a treatment program.

Tackett, his mom, said she took Jordan straight from the jail to the hospital, where he got stitches. Jordan is now at Transitions Inc. of Northern Kentucky, a residential treatment center in Falmouth.

"I'm so angry. And sad," Tackett said. "This just didn't have to happen."

Andrea

11-12-2018, 09:55 AM

Black security guard wanted to be a cop — then police mistakenly killed him, pastor says

https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article221526770.html (https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article221526770.html)

For Patricia Hill, the pastor of Purposed Hill in Chicago, the police killing of 26-year-old Jemel Roberson is especially hard to understand.

That’s because Roberson, along with being a musician for nearby churches, had dreamed of being a police officer, Hill told WGN-TV. He was working at Manny’s Blue Room, a bar in Robbins, Illinois, as an armed security guard when shots rang out early Sunday morning, she said.

“The very people that he wanted to be family with took his life,” Hill told WGN-TV.

When police arrived to help, they found Roberson armed with a gun and on top of another patron at the bar as he tried to stop the fight until authorities arrived, witness Adam Harris told Fox32.

“The security guard that got killed, he caught somebody and had his knee on him the whole time,” Harris said, according to Fox32. “Just waiting on the police to get there. I guess when the police got there, they probably thought he was one of the bad guys, cause he had his gun on the guy and they shot him.”

But Harris told WGN-TV that “everybody” tried to warn the responding officers that Roberson was a security guard who was trying to subdue a suspect — and not a threat.

“Everybody was screaming out ‘security, he was a security guard,” Harris told the outlet, “and they still did their job and saw a black man with a gun and basically killed him.”

Sophia Ansari, a spokeswoman for the Cook County sheriff’s office, told The Chicago Sun-Times that officers first got word of gunfire at the bar sometime after 4 a.m. on Sunday morning. Four people had been shot inside the bar after an argument had broken out, police say, and a responding officer from the Midlothian Police Department fired at Roberson.

He later died at a nearby hospital, according to CBS Chicago, while the four others are being treated for their injuries.

The Midlothian Police Department told The Chicago Sun-Times in a statement that Illinois State Police are investigating the shooting.

“It is the policy of the Midlothian Police Department to utilize the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force for any officer-involved shootings so we can ensure transparency and maintain public trust,” Midlothian police said, according to the newspaper.

As that investigation continues, some have questions about whether this could have been prevented.

Walter Turner, a pastor at New Spiritual Light Baptist Church in Chicago, said he shared a good relationship with Roberson, who played the organ at his church, according to WLS. He expressed confusion at 26-year-old’s sudden killing.

“How in the world does the security guard get shot by police?” Turner said, according to WLS. “A young man that was literally doing his job and now he’s gone.”

In 2012, 31 percent of the people killed by police officers in the U.S. were black — even though they make up just 13 percent of the overall population, according to an analysis of FBI data from Vox.

Andrea

11-15-2018, 02:30 PM

Leaked video: Brusly officer slams middle school student twice; police chief shocked

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_61780be0-e867-11e8-a178-472292a1bc31.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share (https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_61780be0-e867-11e8-a178-472292a1bc31.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share)

Video footage of a police officer wrestling with a 14-year-old Brusly Middle School student last month has leaked in the midst of a Louisiana State Police investigation into allegations of excessive use of force by that officer and one other, authorities said Wednesday.

The footage shows former Brusly Police Officer Anthony "Kip" Dupre, who at the time had recently become the school resource officer, wrestling with the student and slamming him to the ground twice in the school's office as school staff watched on Oct. 5.

A top police official in Brusly said Dupre later claimed the student had reached for his pistol during the struggle, and the video appears to show Dupre handing his holstered weapon to a school staffer to get it clear of the melee on the floor of the school's administrative office.

WAFB broadcast the surveillance video of the incident Wednesday evening, saying it had been sent to the television station by an anonymous source.

Brusly Police Chief Jonathan Lefeaux said his officers obtained the school office surveillance video Oct. 8 or 9 and, once he saw it, decided to turn it over to Louisiana State Police for a possible investigation.

"Once I seen the video, I said, 'Oh, Lord,' … you know, so that's when I called them to look at it," Lefeaux said.

WAFB reported the State Police investigation is nearing completion, but Lefeaux told The Advocate he could not speak to that. Trooper Bryan Lee, spokesman for State Police Troop A, said the investigation "is still ongoing."

Tony Clayton, chief felony prosecutor for the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office, said the office plans to bring the incident before a West Baton Rouge Parish grand jury no matter what the State Police probe finds.

"The optics to this one are bad, and I'm going to put it before the public and let them make the determination what to do with it," Clayton said Wednesday night.

Citing anonymous sources, WAFB's report says that the student later admitted to reaching for the officer's gun and that the student had previously fought with other officers on at least two occasions.

Lefeaux told The Advocate he was familiar with prior incidents related to the teen that happened outside the school but didn't share more details.

Lefeaux said Officer Dupre had originally been called to the school office the morning of Oct. 5 while he was heading to work. The youth was reportedly acting out and wanting to go home, Lefeaux said.

WAFB reported the student was trying to make a phone call to be picked up after getting into an argument with the vice principal.

Though the school surveillance camera appears to be mounted near the ceiling, a full view of the scuffle is blocked by the office's front desk. The officer and student appear to be on the ground below the front desk for much of the struggle, with only Dupre's head, shoulders, arms and the youth's feet visible for long stretches in the five-minute video.

In one, roughly 30-second period, however, Dupre can be seen rapidly thrusting his right shoulder and arm up and down apparently toward the youth, as if punching him, while the much larger man had the teen pinned to the ground. Lefeaux estimated Dupre is about 6-feet 2-inches tall and pushing 300 pounds.

Seconds after the right arm jabs, Dupre can be seen passing a gun back behind himself with his right hand to a school employee, who put the gun behind the front desk and away from the fray.

Dupre then appears to speak on his police radio just seconds before getting the teen in a headlock, lifting him upside down so his legs and feet were pointing up in the air and whipping the teen's body back around to the ground.

Dupre and the second officer, Dan Cipriano, who arrived near the end of the struggle, eventually get the student in handcuffs and escort him out of the office.

Dupre, who has about two decades of law enforcement experience, and Cipriano were initially placed on paid leave last month but resigned last week, Lefeaux said.

Lefeaux said he had asked for the officers' resignations because he believes the nature of the incident would have made it hard for them to continue to work in the community. Both men had been with the police department in this West Baton Rouge community for about three years.

Lefeaux added neither officer had his body camera on during the incident for reasons that remain unclear.

The police chief said he didn't know the student's status at the school. Attempts to reach school system officials Wednesday night were unsuccessful.

Andrea

11-16-2018, 08:12 AM

KSP trooper accused of punching man remains on duty, but investigation remains hidden

http://www.wdrb.com/story/39491542/ksp-trooper-accused-of-punching-civilian-remains-on-duty-but-details-of-investigation-stay-hidden (http://www.wdrb.com/story/39491542/ksp-trooper-accused-of-punching-civilian-remains-on-duty-but-details-of-investigation-stay-hidden)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky State Police trooper accused of punching road construction workers is still on the job and facing a federal lawsuit, but state police won’t release details about its investigation of the incident.

The workers say Trooper Anthony Harrison drove too fast toward their work zone near Fort Knox late one night in September 2017, adding that he stopped his personal car abruptly, confronted the workers and started arguing.

They also said Harrison lunged for one of their phones and punched one of them. Four of the workers then pinned him on the pavement until police arrived. Much of the incident was caught on cellphone video.

Two of the workers said Harrison was angry about not seeing the crew and their equipment in a closed-off and marked traffic lane. He was off-duty at the time.

Harrison was not charged with a traffic violation or a crime. Instead, after an internal investigation, Harrison was suspended without pay for four days. He’s since transferred to Bowling Green, where he remains a state trooper.

Earlier this month, WDRB News obtained a memo closing the internal investigation that stated charges of “conduct unbecoming” were substantiated.

In spite of a request under the Kentucky Open Records Act from WDRB News last month for the full internal investigation, KSP only provided the disposition of the investigation and no other details.

“Full IA investigations are not available for release per open records,” KSP Spokesman Josh Lawson said. “The complaint and the final disposition is what is provided.”

Other agencies, such as Louisville Metro Police, do provide full investigative files after the disposition of the investigation.

Harrison is also facing a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by three of the workers involved in the incident. The lawsuit alleges that Harrison punched workers multiple times.

An attorney for Harrison could not be reached for comment.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

Andrea

11-21-2018, 12:32 PM

U.S. Marshals: Cuyahoga County deprives inmates of food, water and Constitutional Rights amid string of seven deaths

https://www.cleveland.com/expo/news/erry-2018/11/9b3d3f3cc89150/us-marshals-cuyahoga-county-de.html (https://www.cleveland.com/expo/news/erry-2018/11/9b3d3f3cc89150/us-marshals-cuyahoga-county-de.html)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County fails to provide jail inmates with the basic necessities they to need live. It withholds food and water and doesn’t provide medical and mental health care for inmates, according to a blistering report released Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals.

The report says that the inmates’ constitutional rights are routinely violated.

The report offers a clear picture of a jail rife with deplorable conditions, described by marshals' investigators as inhumane.

The jail investigation comes after the deaths of seven inmates between June 10 and Oct. 2. Cleveland.com learned of the seventh death during some two months of investigating the jail. Three of those inmates committed suicide. Fifty-five other inmates tried to take their own lives within the past year, the marshals found.

The county doesn’t investigate what led to the deaths, the report says.

Among the findings in the 52-page report made public Wednesday:

· Warden Eric Ivey withholds food as punishment and inmates aren’t fed properly.

· Jail staff shut off water to toilets and sinks.

· Pregnant women are forced to sleep on mats on the floor.

· Vermin infest the kitchen.

· Inmates sometimes are denied toilet paper and toothbrushes.

· Officers decked out in paramilitary gear routinely threaten inmates until they fear for their lives, going so far as to call some prisoners snitches in front of other prisoners.

· Medical staff lack proper licenses to provide treatment.

· Inmates with mental illness are denied care, even while they’re in isolation.

· Children are housed with adults.

· Inmates spend long stretches of time locked in their cells, sometimes up to 27 hours at a time, once for 12 days in a row.

The problems are so egregious that the U.S. marshals say the county won’t be able to fix them in a timely manner.

The marshals’ team that performed the review consisted of U.S. marshals from Washington and Cleveland, and FBI agents who investigate civil rights violations and economic fraud.

“They need to have a strong leader to implement all of these changes,” U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said of the jail. “They need a strong leader with corrections experience to make it up to standard with other jails. I have full confidence in the sheriff that he’s going to find someone who is able to do that.”

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish asked for the marshals' review. His top jail official, Ken Mills, resigned last week ahead of the release of Wednesday’s report.

In an interview Wednesday, Budish said he based his previous conclusions about jail safety and conditions on state inspections that never raised the breadth of the issues raised after the marshals' investigation. Budish and Sheriff Clifford Pinkney said they were stunned by the marshals' findings.

The report was made public just days after the former jail director Ken Mills tendered his resignation shortly after the U.S. marshals’ presented its preliminary findings to county officials.

Budish said that fixing the problems in the jail is now his top priority, but both he and the sheriff acknowledged that significant changes in leadership at almost every level is needed.

“We need to make sure that our prisoners and our staff is safe in the jail. That is number one,” Budish said.

The list of findings by the marshals is long, and at times, overwhelming. Cleveland.com is providing the full list so that the public, which foots the bills for the jail, can understand the magnitude of the problems.

Former Jail Director Ken Mills, who resigned last week ahead of a scathing U.S. Marshal report about the conditions of the county jail, talks April 5 about the opening of the Bedford Heights Jail. (Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com)
County doesn’t investigate jail deaths

After seven county inmates died this year, Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said the Sheriff’s Department would investigate what led to the deaths. That never happened, the report says.

The county never performed post-mortem reviews and provided the marshals with insufficient and unclear answers about the recent deaths, including two that remain unexplained today. The county doesn’t review its own policies, procedures or any other possible contributing factors to the deaths.

There are no debriefing reports or mortality reviews, no required documentation, minutes of debriefing, medical summaries, timelines of incarceration, notifications, or autopsy reports in the county’s case files in the medical unit, all in violation of county policy.

The warden kept no files regarding the deaths.

The marshals also found that after every inmate death, someone took the housing unit’s logs, which document routine information, emergencies, and unusual incidents. Someone removed the logs and replaced them with a new one. Those new logs never mentioned why it was necessary to start new logs.

The marshals also had issues uncovering any information about inmates and said their records are stored in various locations throughout the jail, making them difficult to find. The jail has no central place for all inmate records.

Jail officials, along with Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, far right, at an April 5 ribbon cutting ceremony at the Bedford Heights Jail.
Inmates with medical and mental illness don’t get treated

The jail’s most vulnerable inmates, those with chronic and mental illnesses, are denied consistent and proper treatment. Some nurses and medical staff don’t have the necessary qualifications to administer health care.

Medical files provided to the marshals were surprisingly deficient. Of 10 nurses hired in October, no records were available for review. Of the files provided, four medical staff members had expired professional licenses; one nurse had no license on file; one medical staff member was not certified to perform CPR and two had only partial CPR certifications; a medical technical assistant had no diploma, and a nurse and nurse practitioner had board actions against them with no documentation of their disposition.

Inmates with serious mental-health needs, developmental disabilities, physical impairments, or inmates who are frail or elderly don’t get specialized treatment that takes into account their conditions.

Some inmates with mental illnesses who are placed in isolation don’t receive the mental health care they need, and never receive mental-health treatment for the entire time they’re in isolation. They don’t have access to therapeutic activities either inside their cell or outside their cell.

There’s no documentation of mental-health providers making face-to-face contact with isolated inmates, which violates federal guidelines.

Cleanliness and sanitation in mental-health-care unit is “minimally acceptable.”

Medical staff doesn’t maintain lists of patients who need medical care for chronic health issues. Treatment schedules for those conditions aren’t tracked on a patient-by-patient basis.

There’s a quarterly meeting that identifies problems with health care in the jail, but when a recent meeting found that there were problems administering medicine to inmates, nothing was done about it.

Jail staff “pass” on training about administering medication. The method used to track missed medications involves a numerical code without a description of what that code means.

Medical and mental-health appraisals aren’t conducted within the required 14 days after an inmate’s arrival at the jail. The people that Cleveland police arrest and take to the jail never get an initial medical screening . Medical staff are only made aware of those inmates’ health concerns when they become urgent, such as a “diabetic inmate who has not had his/her insulin for four days, or others who become symptomatic due to not having hypertensive or psychotropic medications.”

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish speaks before the swearing in of Carole Rendon as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Joshua Gunter, Cleveland.com
‘Men in Black’ threaten inmates, use excessive force

The Special Response Team, a specialized unit in the jail decked out in riot gear, frequently threatened, harassed and intimidated inmates, sometimes withholding basic necessities as a way to control inmate behavior.

Marshals interviewed 100 inmates who described this team as the “Men in Black” because of their paramilitary uniforms. The marshals also viewed the response team's body cameras to reach their conclusions.

The marshals described a chilling scene where members of the specialized team escorted inmates to interviews with the U.S marshals’ investigators, and officers threatened and intimidated the prisoners and called them “snitches.”

The intimidation was so pervasive that guards bullied inmates in full view of the marshals' investigators. The behavior concerned investigators, prompting them to request that 10 inmates get released from the jail “for fear of SRT members retaliation, and the legitimate fear of detainee/inmate safety.”

The inmates interviewed described the Men in Black as routinely abusive. They placed inmates in isolation or segregation and refused to give them blankets when they were cold. They withheld hygiene products such as toothpaste and toilet paper, forcing inmates to use old towels, rags or clothing.

In one case, a response team officer told an inmate that toilet paper is only handed out on Wednesdays and handed him a paper towel.

The team used excessive force on inmates during cell extractions.

The officers verbally abused the inmates with explicit language and used “prejudice and unofficial authority to dictate and control” inmates.

Child inmates are held in the same areas as adult inmates while assigned to isolation or segregation. This is in violation of federal jail standards.

While child inmates charged as adults are held in the main county jail, they aren’t supposed to mix in with the general adult jail population for their safety.

Those children don’t receive the extra nutrition or exercise they need for development, and don’t receive programs that are educational or aimed at brain development.

They are subjected to the same extreme lockdowns as adults. That means they often don’t have access to hygiene, recreation and time outside of their cells.

A video that a judge ordered Cuyahoga County to release to cleveland.com shows a jail supervisor taking a naked and mentally ill female inmate to the ground and spraying her face with pepper foam.

Andrea

11-24-2018, 09:18 AM

REVEALED: Black military man, 21, shot dead by cops in Alabama mall shooting did NOT fire gun as police reveal the gunman is still loose

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6423265/New-video-shows-Alabama-mall-shooters-body-shot-dead-cops-gunning-children.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6423265/New-video-shows-Alabama-mall-shooters-body-shot-dead-cops-gunning-children.html)

- Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., the son of a Birmingham cop and a member of the US Army, was shot dead by officers on Thanksgiving Day
- Police were called over reports of an active shooter at the Riverchase Galleria
- A fight broke out and the gunman pulled out a gun and shot an 18-year-old boy twice, also hitting a 12-year-old girl with a stray bullet
- Cops have now confirmed that while Bradford was involved in the altercation, that he was not the gunman
- It's not clear if Bradford was trying to break up the fight or was involved from the beginning
- Authorities are now warning the real shooter is still on the loose
- Officer involved in the fatal shooting has been placed on administrative leave

Andrea

11-30-2018, 06:51 AM

4 Police Officers Indicted On Federal Civil Rights Charges For Protest Abuses

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/st-louis-police-charged-stockley-protest-crackdown_us_5c005835e4b0d04f48b2516a?tql (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/st-louis-police-charged-stockley-protest-crackdown_us_5c005835e4b0d04f48b2516a?tql)

Four St. Louis police officers were indicted on federal civil rights charges Thursday in connection with their actions during an unconstitutional crackdown on a protest last year.

A federal grand jury indicted St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers Dustin Boone, 35, Bailey Colletta, 25, Randy Hays, 31, and Christopher Myers, 27, on felony charges that included deprivation of constitutional rights, conspiracy to obstruct justice, destruction of evidence, and obstruction of justice.

Police officers chanted the streets were “our streets” during the crackdown on protests after a judge found former officer Jason Stockley, who shot and killed Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011, not guilty.

The indictment alleges that at least three of the defendants “expressed disdain for the Stockley protesters and excitement about using unjustified force against them and going undetected while doing so.” It features text messages between three of the defendants in which they joked about using force against protesters demonstrating against the Stockley verdict.

“let’s whoop some ass,” Myers wrote.

“it’s gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these shitheads once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart,” wrote Boone. “We really need these fuckers to start acting up so we can have some fun.”

Boone later wrote that it was a “blast beating people that deserve it” and bragged about chanting “OUR STREETS” with other cops after they locked “fools up on prison busses.”

All four defendants were part of the St. Louis Police Department’s Civil Disobedience Team, which led the police response to protests following the verdict against their former colleague.

The victim listed in the indictment is a fellow St. Louis police officer who was acting in an undercover capacity during the protests. The defendants, the indictment says, used unreasonable force against their colleague, a 22-year veteran of the force referred to as “L.H.” The officers allegedly lied about their conduct against the undercover officer, who was wearing a shirt that revealed his waistband so officers would not think he was armed.

Officer Bailey Colletta, who was in a romantic relationship with Officer Randy Hays, allegedly lied to the FBI about what she knew about the takedown of the undercover officer. She claimed he was “brought to the ground very gently” when she knew he was forcefully slammed to the ground.

A federal judge said last year that officers “exercised their discretion in an arbitrary and retaliatory fashion to punish protesters for voicing criticism of police.” Former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk, who was arrested and violently assaulted by police while reporting on the protest, filed a lawsuit over police actions earlier this year.

Andrea

12-03-2018, 11:01 AM

Grandma mistakenly booked into all-male Florida jail, staff thought she was transgender

https://www.wfla.com/1632904360 (https://www.wfla.com/1632904360)

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) - A woman is suing employees of a Florida jail after they allegedly forced her to spend several hours in a cell surrounded by dozens of men, because they suspected she was transgender.

The Miami Herald reports 55-year-old Fior Pichardo de Veloz had come to Miami from the Dominican Republic to witness the birth of her grandchild in 2013, when she was arrested at the airport on an outstanding drug charge. Her arrest report listed her as female and Pichardo de Veloz was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and processed as a woman. She was even strip searched.

Due to her history of high blood pressure, Pichardo de Veloz was examined by a nurse as a precaution. The nurse saw she had been taking hormone pills and questioned her about her gender.

Despite Pichardo de Veloz's denial of being a man, the nurse added a note to her file that read: "Transgender, male parts, female tendencies."

The nurse notified a doctor, who reclassified Pichardo de Veloz as male without an examination, according to an appeals court opinion.

Pichardo was transferred to the Metro West Detention Center, an all-male jail, and shared a cell with about 40 men, who jeered at her yelling "Mami! Mami!", according to the newspaper. She was there for 10 hours and said she was terrified to go to the bathroom and "urinated on herself instead."

Jail workers eventually realized their mistake once family members went to the facility where she was originally processed and asked why she was moved.

Pichardo de Veloz was removed from her holding cell and given a new examination. During that exam, Pichardo de Veloz claimed several male officers laughed at her and someone took a photo.

Once her gender was confirmed, she was moved back to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Pichardo de Veloz sued the county and jail staff for negligence and "cruel and unusual punishment," but the case was thrown out by a judge who said the jail staffers were protected from a trial for negligence.

In November, the newspaper reports an appeals court ruled the conduct of the nurse and doctor amounts to “deliberate indifference."

"Every reasonable prison officer and medical personnel would have known that wrongfully misclassifying a biological female as a male inmate and placing that female in the male population of a detention facility was unlawful," Judge Frank Hull wrote in an unanimous opinion.

Andrea

12-05-2018, 04:20 PM

Police allegedly kicked this drag queen to death. Now they’ve been charged.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/12/police-allegedly-kicked-drag-queen-death-now-theyve-charged/?fbclid=IwAR0zwpV2QhQhvF9VJiv2D_IGW0LTXrvdcNdjDwgR WM80-cJuqais49PmiT8 (https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/12/police-allegedly-kicked-drag-queen-death-now-theyve-charged/?fbclid=IwAR0zwpV2QhQhvF9VJiv2D_IGW0LTXrvdcNdjDwgR WM80-cJuqais49PmiT8)

Four police officers have been charged with inflicting fatal bodily harm in connection to the death of LGBTQ activist and drag queen Zak Kostopoulos.

Video of Kostopoulos’s death surfaced in September, as he tried to get out of a locked jewelry store in Athens and was beaten by the store owner and a bystander.

Police arrived and handcuffed Kostopoulos who was on the ground and bleeding, and witnesses said that police officers and other bystanders kicked him.

He was taken away in a stretcher but died before reaching the hospital.

Related: Two men were thrown into the sea in a brutal hate crime during Pride

Before the video surfaced, the police officers said that Kostopoulos was a drug addict who was trying to rob the jewelry store. The video showed otherwise, and the store owner was arrested after the video went viral.

The autopsy showed that Kostopoulos died of cardiac arrest as a result of the brutal beating. The toxicology report found no drugs or alcohol in his body.

In court on Monday, the police officers were charged with inflicting fatal bodily harm because they caused the victim injuries that led to his death.

The police officers deny the charges, and they have until December 12 to prepare their defense statements.

Kostopoulos’s family said through their lawyer that they want the charges changed to intentional murder and that they’re planning to sue the police department.

Andrea

12-10-2018, 10:49 AM

Mom screams ‘I’m begging you’ as police yank her baby in arrest tug of war, video shows

https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article222893525.html (https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article222893525.html)

Jacqueline Jenkins says she’s still coming to grips with a jarring video that shows police officers tugging away at her daughter’s baby.

“I was devastated to see something like that happen to my daughter and grandson,” Jenkins told WABC. “And how this officer (was) yanking on my grandson to get him out of my daughter’s arms.”

The video shows 23-year-old Jazmine Headley screaming on the floor of a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) center in Brooklyn, New York, as multiple police officers try to pry away her 1-year-old son, according to The New York Post.

A spokeswoman for the New York Police Department says it is looking into the “troubling” video, The New York Daily News reported. Headley has an outstanding warrant for her arrest in New Jersey as well, police say, according to NBC New York.

Police say it happened around 1 p.m. on Friday, when officers arrived to the SNAP center because Headley was obstructing a hallway and acting in a “disorderly” manner, The New York Post reported.

Nyashia Ferguson, who goes by Monae Sinclair on Facebook, captured what happened next on video and shared it online, NBC reported.

Ferguson, who recorded on her cellphone, said Headley sat on the floor because there were no seats available — and then things grew hectic, according to CBS New York.

“The security guard, I guess she came over and told her she couldn’t sit there,” Ferguson told CBS New York. “So she’s like, ‘Where am I going to sit?’ (The security guard) was like, ‘I guess you’re going to just have to stand.’

“She said, ‘Well, I’m not gonna stand with my son,’” Ferguson recalled, according to CBS New York. “She was like, ‘What is the crime? What did I do wrong?’ And then it just escalated.”

Staff at the SNAP center called police, who say Headley refused to leave once they arrived, according to CBS New York.

Video shows the 23-year-old screaming, “They’re hurting my son!” and “I’m begging you” on the floor of the SNAP center as a team of police officers yank at her baby boy.

“Oh my God! Look what they’re doing to her!” one person is heard yelling the background.

“She’s got a f------ baby in her hand,” another person shouts as the officers continue to tug at the child and Headley maintains her grip.

A crowd gathers around the chaotic scene, which ends with Headley exiting the building in handcuffs, the video shows. At one point, an officer takes out a stun gun to try to control the onlookers.

Headley was charged with criminal trespassing, acting in a manner injurious to a child, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, reported The New York Post.

She is set to remain in jail until Thursday, when she has a court hearing, according to WABC. Her child is now in the custody of another family member, police say, according to The New York Daily News.

Ferguson’s video has been viewed more than 200,000 times since Friday — and shared nearly 7,000 times.

It caught the attention of Corey Johnson, speaker of the New York City Council, who tweeted that the video is “unacceptable, appalling and heart breaking.”

There are 3 NYPD officers and a sgt. shown ripping a baby out of the hands of a mother in an ACS office. This was the best plan they could come up with? No threat to anyone, no emergency, just brutal disregard for the well-being of mother and child.

New York Attorney General-elect Letitia James told CBS New York that “no mother should have to experience the trauma and humiliation we all witnessed in this video.”

“Being poor is not a crime,” James told the outlet. “The actions of the NYPD in this video are appalling and contemptible.”

In her interview with WABC, Ferguson lamented that the situation didn’t end in a more peaceful way.

“I was just so disgusted and scared,” she told WABC. “I thought the cops supposed to help you — they just straight up came and attacked the lady.”

Andrea

12-14-2018, 12:16 PM

She Says Rikers Guards Raped Her, Then Warned: ‘This Never Happened’

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/nyregion/rikers-rape-guards-federal-lawsuit.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/nyregion/rikers-rape-guards-federal-lawsuit.html)

Two correction officers and their supervisor walked the woman from an intake area to an isolated room in an abandoned area of the Rikers Island jail. There, according to a lawsuit, she was stripped of her clothing, handcuffed to a toilet fixture and sexually assaulted for several hours.

The woman said her attackers included a correction captain and two officers, who raped her and penetrated her with a flashlight. They forced her to perform oral sex and rub one officer’s genitals. She was also compelled to drink soapy liquid, she said, and the officers pepper-sprayed her genitals.

The next day, she said, a correction officer took her from the isolated area to a housing unit in the jail and warned: “This never happened. If it is being heard upstairs, things are going to be worse.”

The disturbing account of a brutal sexual assault in 2013 at the Rose M. Singer Center — the jail that houses women on Rikers Island — was detailed in a federal civil rights lawsuit the woman filed against the city initially under seal in 2015.

Advocates for prisoners say sexual harassment and assault have long been a problem at the women’s lockup, which is known by the initials R.M.S.C. Sexual assault complaints there are double the national average for correctional facilities but are seldom substantiated, a report found.

The woman, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, claims that the city’s Department of Correction is to blame because it does not properly investigate complaints. The suit argues the city violated her constitutional rights by allowing a culture of sexual violence against inmates to persist, and in her case failed to supervise a correction captain who was already under investigation for sexual assault. The woman did not file a complaint with the Department of Correction regarding the alleged attack.

The lawsuit remained under seal while the Bronx district attorney’s office investigated the allegations. The office concluded its investigation in late 2015 without making an arrest. No one was charged, and the case was unsealed, but some documents remain sealed or redacted. Patrice O’Shaughnessy, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, declined to comment about the investigation.

In September, a federal judge allowed the case to move forward, ruling there was evidence the city was doing too little to investigate sexual assault allegations at the jail and discipline its staff, according to a court order made public late last month. The judge granted the woman anonymity in court papers because of the nature of the crime.

“The court concludes that a reasonable juror could find that the city exhibited deliberate indifference in its investigation and discipline practices and that this deliberate indifference caused Doe to be sexually assaulted at R.M.S.C.,” wrote Judge Alison J. Nathan of United States District Court in Manhattan.

The judge added that there was “significant evidence” of “a policy of deliberate indifference to the physical and sexual assault of inmates at R.M.S.C.” She also said in her decision that the failure to investigate and discipline people for sexual misconduct had led to more incidents.

A number of similar complaints have landed in the courts. Last year, the city agreed to pay about $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit by two women who claimed they had been repeatedly raped and sexually abused by a correction officer at Rikers.

The Department of Correction said it has taken steps to address sexual violence. It has a division trained to respond to sexual assault allegations that works with the police’s special victims unit. Eight new investigators have been hired and four more will join the agency by January.

The department also has a 24-hour hotline where inmates can report sexual assault, and an electronic screening tool to identify people at risk of sexual assault and to place them in safer housing.

A spokesman for the City Law Department, Nick Paolucci, declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit but said the city takes sexual assault allegations seriously.

“At this stage, the court has not determined the credibility of the plaintiff’s claims, but has ruled that a jury must decide whether the allegations are true,” he said.

The correction captain accused in the assault did not respond to requests for comment. The president of his union, Patrick Ferraiuolo of the Correction Captains’ Association, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Elias Husamudeen, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, would not comment, a spokesman said.

The lawsuit said that the captain was in charge of processing new arrivals and had been accused of sexually assaulting another inmate in 2012. Correction department investigators found that allegation unsubstantiated and removed it from his record, the complaint said.

The captain was also cited by a warden for using excessive force in another case. The warden, however, did not change the captain’s assignment, and the captain retired in 2015. Judge Nathan wrote that the city was on notice that the captain “had a propensity to seriously abuse or sexually assault female inmates.”

Another correction officer named in the lawsuit no longer works in an inmate housing area.

The plaintiff, who was twice detained on Rikers Island, claims that the first sexual assault occurred in October 2013 after she was jailed on a shoplifting charge. She was released that month, but then was jailed again in January 2014 on a charge of credit card fraud, and was again assaulted, her lawyers said in court papers.

“The evidence that was before the court and that we have amassed suggests to us that this conduct was systemic,” said Alan S. Futerfas, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiff.

A report by a former warden, Timothy Ryan, included in the lawsuit said that inmates housed at R.M.S.C. report sexual assault at a level more than double the national average for correctional facilities, but those allegations were rarely substantiated. He concluded that the department’s investigators jumped to “quick conclusions that the assaults could not have occurred exactly as described and thus did not occur at all.”

The Board of Correction also analyzed a sample of 42 investigation reports related to sexual abuse complaints in city jails from January 2010 to December 2017. In an audit released in September, it found significant problems in the investigations, including failure to complete key interviews, review video and testimonial evidence, establish a crime scene and complete investigations in a timely manner.

Mitchell Abramson, a spokesman for the Department of Correction, said the number of sexual assault and harassment allegations that have been substantiated has increased in recent years, reaching 19 this year, up from two in 2015. Of the 44 sexual abuse and harassment complaints substantiated since 2015, 13 include allegations against correction staff, he said.

“It is important litigation like this continues,” said Ellen Resnick, another lawyer representing the woman. “It’s a valuable mechanism to bring public attention to the city’s oversight of Rikers and to compel much-needed reform.”

Andrea

01-31-2019, 08:43 AM

Florida Man Spent 41 Days in Jail for Heroin — But it was Actually Detergent

https://fox40.com/2019/01/30/florida-man-spent-41-days-in-jail-for-heroin-but-it-was-actually-detergent/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5c52cf5e04d3015c71101766&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter (https://fox40.com/2019/01/30/florida-man-spent-41-days-in-jail-for-heroin-but-it-was-actually-detergent/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5c52cf5e04d3015c71101766&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter)

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Matt Crull, 29, spent 41 days in jail wrongly accused, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. He was locked up over Christmas and New Year’s. But he and 10 others are out now, and the deputy is fired, according to WPTV.

Crull had a white powdery substance that was found in the driver’s side door, wrapped in plastic with a hair tie around it. Crull says it was Tide laundry detergent. Deputy Steven O’Leary said it was heroin — a lot of heroin.

“I just looked at him baffled and confused because I had no idea as to where 92 grams of heroin came from inside my van,” Crull said.

Crull says he bought his Astro van about three weeks prior for $1,400, so maybe the last owner had left it behind. But the street price of 92 grams, according to American Addiction Centers, could cost more than $18,000.

“He wasn’t fit and just to be a cop,” Crull said.

Crull was parked at a Jensen Beach KFC restaurant, asleep the van on Dec. 5. He admits he had taken a sip of a Budweiser that was in the cupholder.

First paramedics arrived, and then deputies, including O’Leary.

Crull has been in trouble with the law before, but he says nothing like this.

“In the past, when I have gone to jail, it’s been something where I knew I wasn’t going to be there forever. It’s a lot different than going to jail and the charge of trafficking of heroin carries a penalty of 25 years in prison,” Crull said.

He was one of 11 people freed from jail because whatever drug O’Leary said it was turned out to be something legal.

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder distancing his department from O’Leary Monday.

“No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, just based on the law of possibilities there’s always a possibility that one bad apple will slip through,” Snyder said.

“I think that’s just their play that they’re doing to keep their name clear,” Crull said.

All the charges for all 11 people have been dropped.

Crull said he wasn’t sure if he was going to sue.

Andrea

02-01-2019, 11:30 AM

Opa-locka police corporal caught on camera failing to stop at scene of fatal crash

https://www.local10.com/news/local-10-investigates/opa-locka-police-corporal-caught-on-camera-failing-to-stop-at-scene-of-fatal-crash (https://www.local10.com/news/local-10-investigates/opa-locka-police-corporal-caught-on-camera-failing-to-stop-at-scene-of-fatal-crash)

OPA-LOCKA, Fla. - Local 10 News has obtained never publicly seen video of what happened the night of a fiery fatal crash in northwest Miami-Dade County in 2017.

In the video, Opa-locka police Cpl. Wuihudson Francois was seen driving away from the crash seconds after impact without rendering any help.

Francis' Buick burst into flames a minute after his car came to rest in front of a transmission shop on Northwest 103rd Street.

"My brother was in the car burning alive," Raymond Francis, Kemar Francis' brother, who is a firefighter in North Carolina, told Local 10 News. "This all could have been avoided."

Authorities said a silver Acura driven by Lanard Gilbert, 21, ran the light at Northwest 103rd Street and 22nd Avenue and slammed into Kemar Francis' car.

Gilbert was apparently trying to get away from Francois, who was pursuing him before the crash occurred.

Francois had spotted Gilbert driving erratically in Opa-locka and followed him out of the city, which is against Opa-locka Police Department rules.

"After the crash, this officer did the exact opposite of what he should have done," attorney Ben Murphey, who has been hired by Kemar Francis' family, told Local 10 News.

Surveillance video from a transmission shop shows Francois' Opa-locka police SUV making a left turn onto Northwest 103rd Street 18 seconds after the massive impact.

He is seen in the video driving away from the crash, like nothing happened.

"It's impossible not for him to see that accident. Why did he turn left?" Raymond Francis said.

"Civilians knew something was wrong. They stopped to help and this police officer didn't? You can't not know," Murphey added.

Kemar Francis' brother said the officer should have stopped and pulled his brother out before the fire erupted.

"Kemar had smoke in his lungs, so we know he was alive when that car was burning," Murphey said. "The police vehicles are equipped with a fire extinguisher."

An eyewitness told a Miami-Dade police officer who arrived at the scene that she was shocked the officer didn't stop.

"We went over there to try to help, but the police didn't try to come over here and help," the witness said.

Video shows the Opa-locka police officer returning to the scene of the crash several minutes later.

Francois told an Internal Affairs investigator that another driver flagged him down to tell him about the crash, but in a deposition he told a different story.

In the deposition, Francois said he was on his way back to the city when the crash call was dispatched out, so he turned around.

Miami-Dade police officers who showed up at the scene raised an eyebrow when Opa-locka officers wanted to leave the scene.

On bodycam video obtained by Local 10 News, a Miami-Dade police officer says, "Opa-locka is about to clear. They ain't tryin' to get none of this."

"Yeah. They started it. They the one chasing him," another Miami-Dade police officer said.

"According to them, they ain't. You know how that go," the first officer responded.

According to the results of an Internal Affairs investigation, Francois violated the Opa-locka Police Department's chase policy.

The policy states officers cannot pursue traffic violators, misdemeanor subjects or people committing property crime under any circumstance.

Franciois was 32 blocks outside his jurisdiction. He did not call his superior, had no emergency lights on, had no sirens on and did not tell Miami-Dade police he was following a possible stolen car that entered their jurisdiction.

Opa-locka police Chief James Dobson first recommended that Francois be terminated.

The chief then changed his recommendation to a demotion.

There is no explanation in Francois' personnel file as to why the chief changed his position.

Dobson won't comment due to pending litigation.

Francois is now part of the Opa-locka Police Department's traffic unit.

Opa-locka police Cpl. Wuihudson Francois did not answer any of Local 10 News Investigative Reporter Jeff Weinsier's questions.

He refused to talk to Local 10 News investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier, who confronted him outside the Opa-Locka Police Department.

"I think he fled because he realized that he had caused a horrific crash," Murphey said.

"I would ask him, 'Why did he leave the scene? Was your job more important than my brother's life?'" Raymond Francis said.

Francois told an I.A. investigator that he was not chasing the car and never heard or saw the crash.

He claimed he made the left turn because he thought the driver of the Acura did the same.

"While the loss of life in this case is unfortunate, we believe that Officer Francois acted appropriately based on the totality of events, and expect that he will be exonerated of any and all wrongdoing after all of the evidence is heard," Miami-Dade County Police Benevolent Association attorney Anastasios Kamoutsas said.

Because of pending litigation, no one from the city of Opa-locka would talk to Local 10 News about the incident.

"Their position is that we see no liability on our part whatsoever," Murphey said.

This is not the first time Francois has been the subject of an Internal Affairs investigation.

In 2001, Francois failed to property handcuff and secure an arrestee in the back of his patrol car.

That suspect was able to loosen his handcuffs, get into the front seat of Francois' patrol car and take off.

The suspect led police on a high-speed chase until he crashed and the patrol car burst into flames.

As for the incident in which Kemar Francis was killed, Gilbert was charged with eluding police, vehicular homicide and possession of a firearm.

His trial is still pending.

Andrea

02-06-2019, 01:12 PM

EXCLUSIVE: Body cam video shows alleged Hamden police misconduct

https://www-wtnh-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.wtnh.com/amp/news/news-8-exclusive/exclusive-body-cam-video-shows-alleged-hamden-police-misconduct/1757596319?usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D&amp_js_v=0.1#aoh=15494565521506&amp_ct=1549456621132&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wtnh.com%2Fnews%2Fnews-8-exclusive%2Fexclusive-body-cam-video-shows-alleged-hamden-police-misconduct%2F1757596319 (https://www-wtnh-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.wtnh.com/amp/news/news-8-exclusive/exclusive-body-cam-video-shows-alleged-hamden-police-misconduct/1757596319?usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D&amp_js_v=0.1#aoh=15494565521506&amp_ct=1549456621132&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wtnh.com%2Fnews%2Fnews-8-exclusive%2Fexclusive-body-cam-video-shows-alleged-hamden-police-misconduct%2F1757596319)

HAMDEN, Conn. (WTNH) - Last February, Hamden police Officer Andrew Lipford tried to pull over a BMW for a red light violation when the driver allegedly took off. Cops say Victor Medina led them on a chase, ending in the man's driveway where Ofc. Lipford threatened to shoot him.

"If you do something that you're not told you're gonna get shot!" yelled Lipford.

Attorney Frank Cirillo represents Medina. "That is shocking to hear and it seems dangerous," Cirillo said.

But it's what the sergeant on scene says to Medina's passenger, which was caught on body cam that has local Hispanic groups outraged.

"Three letters: I-C-E."

"Using that as an intimidation tactic is a disservice to the community that the police department claims to protect and serve," said Jesús Morales Sanchez of the group Unidad Latina en Acción.

The apparent reference to Immigration and Customs Enforcement came after police repeatedly accused the passenger of faking his inability to speak English. Morales Sanchez said the officers' conduct in the video is unacceptable.

"That just takes away a lot of trust from the police," Morales Sanchez told us.

Civil rights expert, Attorney John Williams, reviewed the body cam video for News 8 and found multiple constitutional violations. Williams indicated two specific concerns, including the level of force used on the driver and the alleged unlawful search of the man's trunk.

Acting Hamden police Chief John Cappiello said he first learned of the video from News 8's Mario Boone. The chief released a statement saying, "I only looked at what you pointed out to us in the video and the two specific areas are concerning to me. I am initiating an internal investigation into this incident," referring to the shooting threat and ICE comment.

"I'm relieved that the chief is now taking a look at this case. I think they would be foolish to take this lightly," Attorney Cirillo said.

Medina was charged with multiple traffic violations, including DUI. The passenger was released without charges.

On Wednesday morning, Hamden Mayor Curt Balzano Leng issued the following statement in reaction to News 8's exclusive story:

"Actions taken by some involved were disgraceful, and certainly not representative of Hamden's values.

I do not expect, and will not tolerate, these types of actions by any of our law enforcement personnel. Acting Chief Cappiello has launched an immediate internal investigation into this incident, and I will work closely with the Chief and the Hamden Police Commission to ensure that that the investigation is as thorough as the situation demands and deserves.

Appropriate action will be taken. As many know, I am a strong supporter of our local law enforcement and respect so many of our public safety men and women that work tirelessly for our community every day. Certain actions taken and words spoken in the video shown today have no business being part of Hamden law enforcement. Period.

Connecticut law clearly dictates our State's legal policy, which every local law enforcement agency must follow related to detaining an individual based on their immigration status. It makes detaining unlawful, with few and very specific exceptions, such as a violent criminal actions or known gang activity. Our local Police follow this policy; we follow it because it is law, because it increases the safety of all our residents and because it reflect our values."

Andrea

02-09-2019, 11:47 AM

Video of BSO deputy calling a black father ‘boy’ amid foul language sparks complaint

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article225998300.html (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article225998300.html)

The actions of a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy with a history of making false arrests drew a complaint from the Broward Public Defender’s Office after bodycam video from a July 2017 incident emerged last month.

Deputy James Cady confronts Allen Floyd, an African-American father calmly holding his infant, angrily drops f-bombs and calls Floyd “boy” before appearing to grab Floyd by the throat.

Floyd wasn’t under investigation for any crime. Nor was he being belligerent towards Cady in the video from July 25, 2017.

Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein made the latter point in a Jan. 30 letter to newly appointed Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony.

“Deputy Cady’s verbal assault coupled with him choking an otherwise cooperative bystander can only be characterized as unlawful touching,” Finkelstein wrote. “In addition, Deputy Cady’s use of the term “boy” is offensive, condescending and demeaning. It carries racial connotations when used while addressing an adult black male.”

In the official report on the incident, Cady’s presence isn’t even noted, although the video shows he played a key role.

Tony’s response letter said, “Thank you for bringing this matter that occurred in July 2017 to my attention. A cursory search of our system shows that no complaint was made prior to receiving your letter.

“Our Division of Internal Affairs will provide you with a response upon conducting a thorough examination.”

The public defender’s office discovered the video in preparing to defend Johnnymae Dardy, according to the Sun Sentinel. The probable cause affidavit by BSO Deputy Debbra Bridgman said Dardy had been watching Floyd’s baby at the Red Carpet Inn in Dania, where she had a room; the Sun Sentinel said BSO had been called to the motel about Dardy.

The bodycam video picks up with Cady asking Floyd, who is holding his child and sitting on a curb, if he has a separate room at the motel. Then, Cady demands, three times, to see Floyd’s identification. Floyd shows Cady pictures on his phone, apparently to show he’s the child’s father, a gesture Cady disdains.

Finally, after Floyd shakes his head at Cady, Cady says, “OK, fine, I’m going to take her to jail because she’s got a warrant and I’m going to call child services on this kid!” When Floyd starts to say something, Cady says, “Quit f----- with me, boy! You hear me? Get your ID! Now!”

Bridgman’s voice chimes in, “ID!”

Dardy, who had been in the BSO cruiser, appears and Cady says, “Get your ass back in the car! I’m tired of you f----- playing games!”

As Cady angrily repeats his demand for Floyd’s identification, Floyd asks, “Why are you being so hostile?”

Cady answers, “Because you’re giving me s--- and I’m tired of it!”

Eventually Cady says, “I want to know who this baby is going with!” and Floyd replies, “He’s going with me, Allen Floyd.”

Floyd rises from the curb, still holding his child in his left arm. Cady steps toward him. Floyd turns to walk away and says, “Stop calling me ‘boy!’ ”

Cady grabs Floyd by the right arm while Bridgman grabs Floyd’s child from his left arm. Then, the video shows Cady’s left hand holding small papers that, along with Floyd’s torso, partially block the bodycam while his right hand is up in Floyd’s throat area.

When a fuller view is available again, Floyd’s saying, “I ain’t doin’ nothin’!” with his arms spread wide. Bridgman is holding the baby.

The probable cause affidavit doesn’t mention that Cady was among the deputies there. Nor, when later describing Dardy trying to grab the baby from Bridgman’s arms, does it mention how Bridgman came to be holding the child.

Gordon Weekes, executive chief assistant public defender, said that if a person answers a law enforcement officer with his name, as Floyd did several times, he’s identified himself. From that point, officers have many ways to verify identity.

Cady’s personnel file includes previous Internal Affairs investigations for conduct unbecoming an employee (result: unfounded) and use of force (result: exonerated) from a June 2003 investigation; and taking suitable action (result: not sustained) and conduct unbecoming an employee (result: not sustained) from a June 2010 investigation. Despite the result of each investigation, the final recommendation was for a one-day suspension.

The second investigation coincides with the first of two federal lawsuits with Cady as defendant, lawsuits that cost Broward County almost $680,000.

A federal lawsuit for wrongful arrest filed against Cady by Weston resident William Pineiro resulted in Pineiro being awarded $250,000 in total damages, $75,635 in attorney’s fees and $4,183.27 in court costs and interest. Pineiro had been at a party thrown by a Dania Beach couple whose federal lawsuit for false arrest against deputies Cady, Justin Lambert, Randy Villata and Broward Sheriff Scott Israel (as their supervisor) was settled for $350,000.

The complaint described Cady saying, “Shut the f--- up!” when Pineiro said, “Excuse me, officer. That is my truck” as Cady ticketed it. Later, after the couple was arrested and the husband Tasered, Pineiro asked Cady why they were being arrested. The complaint says Cady answered with a curse, (“What the f---, you want to be arrested, too?”), a running tackle and the arrest of Pineiro for obstruction of justice.

Andrea

02-26-2019, 11:48 AM

Two Miami-Dade cops charged after video catches sergeant slapping a handcuffed teen

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article226772714.html (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article226772714.html)

The home surveillance video was jarring: A Miami-Dade police sergeant suddenly slapping a handcuffed teenager in the face as he is about to be led away to a patrol car.

Prosecutors have now charged the sergeant — and another officer who is suspected of trying to destroy the video surveillance system that captured the slap.

Miami-Dade Sgt. Manuel Regueirowas charged Tuesday with misdemeanor battery, prosecutors announced. Officer Alexander Gonzalez was also charged with a count of third-degree felony tampering with evidence, and misdemeanor petty theft.

“It’s infuriating. This is happening at a time when police and community relations are already stressed,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told the Miami Herald.

Prosecutors plan to detail the case at an afternoon news conference.

The teen was Bryan Crespo, then 18, who was being investigated in March of 2018 for allegedly dealing in stolen airbags.

Miami-Dade police raided his Allapattah home, which had a surveillance camera rolling inside his living room. The footage shows Crespo, shirtless and cuffed, being led away when he was slapped by Regueiro.

Miami-Dade internal-affairs investigators uncovered additional footage, from a home across the street, that appears to show Officer Gonzalez stealing an object covered up in a pillowcase. Investigators believe the item was a battery pack he believed was the recording unit.

A Miami-Dade police lieutenant involved in the case has also been suspended with pay pending an internal affairs investigation. Another officer seen in the video, Jennifer Alvarez, was relieved of duty on Tuesday as investigators probe her role in the incident.

When the footage first emerged last year, Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said: “The actions depicted in the video are extremely disturbing and in no way represent the core values of our agency.”

Crespo’s attorneys have said they plan on filing a lawsuit against the officer.

Andrea

03-05-2019, 10:17 AM

GEORGIA WOMAN ENDURED ARREST, MILLION-DOLLAR BOND, AND MONTHS OF JAIL OVER ‘METH’ THAT WAS ACTUALLY COTTON CANDY

https://theappeal.org/georgia-woman-endured-arrest-million-dollar-bond-months-of-jail-over-meth-that-was-actually-cotton-candy/?fbclid=IwAR11DFeFpbz8ovgj4B_WGksdfy_NVPsOytV-H3y3TVfYN9xO3KqZ926hkAc (https://theappeal.org/georgia-woman-endured-arrest-million-dollar-bond-months-of-jail-over-meth-that-was-actually-cotton-candy/?fbclid=IwAR11DFeFpbz8ovgj4B_WGksdfy_NVPsOytV-H3y3TVfYN9xO3KqZ926hkAc)

On Dec. 31, 2016, sheriff’s deputies in Monroe County, Georgia, pulled over David Maynard Morris Jr. His girlfriend at the time, Dasha Fincher, sat next to him in the passenger seat. The deputies told the pair that they initiated the stop because the vehicle’s window tint was too dark. They then said the tint was not in violation of the law but asked to search the car regardless.

Morris consented to the search. Among the trash on the passenger-side floorboard, deputies found what they described as a “blue crystal like substance” inside an open plastic bag. The deputies removed the substance from the bag, sniffed it, and analyzed it with a narcotics field test called Nark II. Fincher insisted that the substance was simply cotton candy—but moments later the test produced a positive result for methamphetamine. She was charged with methamphetamine trafficking as well as possession with intent to distribute the drug. “I was shocked,” Fincher told The Appeal. “I really thought I’d get down to the jail and they’d just have to turn around and let me go.”

On Jan. 11, 2017, Fincher appeared for her first bond hearing where the judge ordered a $1 million cash bond based on the arresting officer’s testimony even though the deputy who had conducted the test, Cody Maples, acknowledged in court that he had no training in drug recognition. Fincher was unable to pay the seven-figure bond and remained incarcerated pending a more sophisticated test of the substance by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). On March 15, 2017, a Monroe County grand jury returned an indictment against Fincher for trafficking methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine. But just days later, on March 22, she was cleared in the case: The GBI issued a report finding that there were no controlled substances in the blue material. It was, as Fincher maintained all along, cotton candy.

But the conclusion in Fincher’s case did not erase the injustice she suffered: She sat in the Monroe County jail for three months and endured profound trauma while incarcerated. She also joined a long list of people who have been wrongfully incarcerated because of the Nark II tests which have returned false positives for everyday substances such as vitamins, breath mints, and headache powder. Manufactured by forensic kit maker Sirchie, the roadside drug tests were responsible for at least 145 false positives in Georgia in 2017, an investigation by Atlanta’s Fox affiliate found. Nark II produced the highest number of false positives—64—in methamphetamine tests, according to the Fox investigation. “That to me tells me there’s something wrong with this product,” Fincher’s attorney, James Freeman, told The Appeal.

On Nov. 15, Freeman filed a civil rights lawsuit on Fincher’s behalf in a Georgia federal court against the deputies, Monroe County, and Sirchie, claiming that she was wrongfully arrested and jailed, and maliciously prosecuted. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is also facing a federal civil rights lawsuit from Micka Martin, a Georgia woman who says a sergeant struck, punched, and kicked her while she was handcuffed in a booking area at the jail in 2016. The sheriff’s office referred questions from The Appeal about the training that officers receive to the county attorney, who did not immediately respond. Neither Deputy Maples or Sirchie responded to a request for comment.

Fincher also claims in her lawsuit to have suffered emotional distress from her case. The day before her January 2017 bond hearing, Fincher’s daughter-in-law gave birth to twin boys. Later, Fincher’s son visited her at the Monroe County jail to introduce her to her grandsons. During the visit, officers arrested him for a failure to appear bench warrant; a frustrated Fincher then broke her hand on a concrete wall. The next day, it was determined that no warrant existed for her son, and he was freed. A doctor, meanwhile, told Fincher that her injured hand could only be fitted with a brace because of severe swelling. She was advised to return in a week for a full cast, but the jail never transported her for the follow-up visit, according to her lawsuit.

In another incident, Fincher alleges that she was taken to the emergency room for a cyst on her ovaries but was not permitted by jail officials to follow up with a gynecologist as recommended. According to her lawsuit, a female jailer told her to “get over it” because she’d had an ovarian cyst before. Fincher’s daughter also suffered a miscarriage, and she was unable to support her because she was behind bars.

Heather Harris, an expert in forensic analytical chemistry who has consulted with public defenders in Georgia on Nark II tests, told The Appeal that in Fincher’s case the blue food dye was most likely responsible for the false positive result. The reagent in the Nark II test is designed to color react with secondary amines in methamphetamine; a dark blue color indicates a positive result. Harris adds that the tests include a warning that their results must be confirmed by an independent laboratory but that law enforcement has repeatedly relied on the tests to jail people. “It’s not a confirmatory test,” Harris said, “so the problem is the human beings who are misusing the results of the test.”

The March 22, 2017, GBI report that exonerated Fincher didn’t result in her immediate release: She wasn’t freed until April 4, and prosecutors from the Towaliga Judicial Circuit did not nolle prosse (decline to prosecute) the case until April 18. Freeman, her attorney, said he’s not sure why there was such a long period between the lab results and her release but expects an answer to emerge during discovery in the lawsuit. “The very idea that when they pull out this big loose bag, that this is somehow this mass quantity of methamphetamine these great drug dealers are carrying around is just ludicrous,” he said. “Common sense went out the window on this arrest.”

Fincher said she hopes that her lawsuit will result in stricter policies for officers who use roadside drug tests. But most of all, she wants Monroe County to apologize to her. “They just didn’t care,” she said.

Andrea

03-07-2019, 09:17 AM

8 Colorado Cops Detain Black Man At Gunpoint For Picking Up Trash On His Lawn: ‘This Is My House’

https://thegailygrind.com/2019/03/06/8-colorado-cops-detain-black-man-at-gunpoint-for-picking-up-trash-on-his-lawn-this-is-my-house/?fbclid=IwAR0qltxF_OKDEmVNmObLeEPNpGD1dKltNC8wMIcj 67xCmIVVoun_8rSz-Cw (https://thegailygrind.com/2019/03/06/8-colorado-cops-detain-black-man-at-gunpoint-for-picking-up-trash-on-his-lawn-this-is-my-house/?fbclid=IwAR0qltxF_OKDEmVNmObLeEPNpGD1dKltNC8wMIcj 67xCmIVVoun_8rSz-Cw)

Boulder police on Monday launched an internal investigation after video surfaced of multiple officers confronting and detaining a black man at gunpoint who was picking up trash at his own house.

Boulder police said one of their officers approached a man sitting in a partially enclosed patio area behind a “private property” sign in the 2300 block of Arapahoe Avenue at 8:30 a.m. Friday and asked him if he was allowed to be there, reports The Denver Post.

The man reportedly informed the officer that he lived and worked in the building, and handed the officer his school identification card, but the officer instead detained the man while he “investigated further.”

The Denver Post reports:

The officer then made a request over the radio for additional assistance to respond, saying the man was uncooperative and unwilling to put down a blunt object. Several other officers, including a supervisor, responded. Police found the object the man was holding is a device used to pick up trash.

Police found the object the man was holding is a device used to pick up trash, and officers left the area.

A roommate began recording the encounter and later shared the video online. The 16-minute video shows his roommate trying to explain that he lives in the building and that he did not have a weapon.

“You’re on my property with a gun in your hand, threatening to shoot me, because I’m picking up trash,” the man can be heard saying. “I don’t have a weapon! This is a bucket, this is a clamp.”

“I’m not sitting down and you can’t make me,” the man says as additional officers arrived on the scene. “This is my property, this is my house — I live here.”

The person recording the video can be heard saying eight officers responded to the scene, some with their guns drawn or their hands on their weapons.

During Tuesday’s Boulder City Council meeting, audience members held aloft trash grabbers and clacked them as Police Chief Greg Testa briefed council members about the incident.

“This is an extremely concerning issue, and one that we are taking very seriously,” Testa read from a prepared statement.

Testa noted that an internal affairs investigation is ongoing, and the initial responding officer is on administrative leave. The probe is expected to take 60 to 90 days, reports Daily Camera.

Andrea

03-11-2019, 09:52 AM

PARTY GUESTS SUING OVER MASS ARREST FOR LESS THAN AN OUNCE OF MARIJUANA

https://theappeal.org/party-guests-suing-over-mass-arrest-for-less-than-an-ounce-of-marijuana/?fbclid=IwAR1Uxf2FNHzznol2A3-xiCCUtbPrIVzvkSeyxIALEm6Yrggj9nKT2dRUGMo (https://theappeal.org/party-guests-suing-over-mass-arrest-for-less-than-an-ounce-of-marijuana/?fbclid=IwAR1Uxf2FNHzznol2A3-xiCCUtbPrIVzvkSeyxIALEm6Yrggj9nKT2dRUGMo)

On Dec. 31, 2017, Nija Guider finished her waitressing shift and headed to a friend’s 21st birthday party in Cartersville, Georgia. She had been at the party for less than an hour when, suddenly, the police arrived. Without a warrant or permission, they entered the house and detained everyone inside. Guider and more than 60 other guests’ wrists were zip-tied.

“Boom, we were all going to jail,” Guider, then 21, recalled.

Each guest was charged with possessing less than an ounce of marijuana that had been found in the home. Some spent days in jail, held under harsh conditions, Guider and other party guests allege. The district attorney’s office would eventually drop charges against everyone. But many of those swept up at the party say the arrest cost them jobs and hurt their reputations.

While Guider was still in jail, her mugshot and those of others arrested were posted on the Bartow County jail website, in violation of Georgia state law, according to their attorneys. By the afternoon of Dec. 31, their mugshots were on the news, underneath headlines about a Cartersville drug bust.

“Everybody was treated inhumanely and talked to like they should expect this,” said Atteeyah Hollie, senior staff attorney at Southern Center for Human Rights.

Now Hollie and her colleagues, along with attorneys from The Merchant Law Firm PC, are helping the arrestees fight back. Today, they filed suit against the city of Cartersville, as well as members of the Cartersville Police Department, Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force, and Bartow County sheriff’s office, alleging that the search and mass arrest violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.

Cartersville Mayor Matt Santini told The Appeal in an email that because the incident may involve litigation, he could not comment. The Cartersville chief of police and Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force did not respond to requests for comment. Bartow County Sheriff Clark Millsap declined to release information without a public records request. That request is now pending.

Sun Choy, who is representing the city, said over email that he could not give an interview “in light of the anticipated litigation.” However, he added, “I am comfortable in saying that we believe that any plaintiff will have to overcome some significant legal hurdles if he/she pursues a claim.”

In addition to recovering financial damages for their clients, the plaintiffs’ attorneys hope to draw attention to the department’s warrantless search practices, which they consider unconstitutional. Nationwide, unlawful searches disproportionately impact people of color, heightening concerns over their use. In this case, according to jail records, more than 50 of those arrested were Black.

‘Exigent circumstances’
Here’s the police account: At about 2 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2017, Cartersville Police Officer Joshua Coker was responding to a report of gunfire in the area when he drove down Cain Drive. Even with his car windows rolled up, he smelled marijuana, according to his testimony at a subsequent hearing.

He then saw four men in front of the home where Guider and others had gathered. Coker requested two other officers in the area join him.

The officers asked the men what was occurring inside; they explained it was a party. The officers then entered the home and announced everyone was being detained, according to police testimony. The majority of the guests were in their late teens or early 20s, according to booking reports.

“I had exigent circumstances to go inside and clear the residence … and make sure of no destruction of evidence prior to the Drug Task Force arriving,” testified Coker.

The exigent circumstance, he said, was that he smelled marijuana. He further explained that it is police department policy to enter a home without a warrant if marijuana is smelled inside or outside the home, “clear the residence for any occupants,” and contact the Drug Task Force, which was formed in 2008 to combat drugs and violent crime in Bartow County.

But, the partygoers and their attorneys say the police response was degrading and unconstitutional. While detained in the house, some of the guests were forbidden from using the bathroom while others, including Guider, were permitted to go only with the door open, according to the complaint. A search warrant for the home was signed at 4:19 a.m., about two hours after the police arrived.

Each guest was then searched—no drugs were found during the pat-downs—put into Bartow County sheriff’s vans, and taken to the county jail, where they sat in the jail garage for “upwards of an hour,” according to the complaint. One person who was denied permission to use the bathroom was told to “just piss on yourself,” the complaint alleges; he urinated on himself inside the van.

When people spoke up about their mistreatment, they were threatened with Tasers, or sent to “isolation cells” for roughly five to seven hours, according to the complaint.

Once inside the jail, they were held for one to three days in crowded cells that felt unheated, and some lacked sleeping pads or blankets, according to the complaint. Each person was strip-searched, including some as young as 17 years old. Some people with medical conditions were denied care, according to the suit.

“One person who experiences seizures informed a jail nurse of her condition but did not receive her anti-seizure medication until the third day of her detention,” the complaint reads. “A pregnant woman was denied prenatal pills and received no care when she vomited repeatedly in a holding cell garbage can.”

When people spoke up about their mistreatment, they were threatened with Tasers, or sent to “isolation cells” for roughly five to seven hours, according to the complaint. The isolation cells did not have beds or blankets.

“Some wrapped toilet paper around their arms, torsos, and feet because they were so cold,” the complaint alleges. “Others exercised to stay warm.”

Sheriff Millsap declined to address these allegations.

Police recovered less than an ounce of marijuana from inside the home, according to the complaint. Outside, they found two plastic bags that allegedly contained cocaine and marijuana, according to police field reports. One person was charged with possession of those bags, but the charge was later dropped after a judge ruled the search was unconstitutional.

‘Scar on their records’
For Guider, the arrest and jail time ruined what was meant to be the start of an auspicious new year. A mother to a 1-year-old, she had struggled with postpartum depression and finding stable housing. But on the cusp of 2018, she felt hopeful. She had a new home and a new job at a Mexican restaurant.

“I was able to buy all my son’s Christmas [presents] and then some on my own for the first time,” said Guider.

She said she was not allowed to make any phone calls while incarcerated. According to the complaint, many of the arrestees were denied phone access.

“I didn’t get to speak to my mom at all when I was in jail,” said Guider. “I just was sending messages through my friends that were bonded out.”

On Jan. 2, 2018, Guider was released on a $1,000 bond. But her new job was already lost. She said her employer told her she was fired because, “Y’all on the news.” Two and a half months later, she found another job. While she was unemployed, she went to food pantries to feed her son, according to the complaint.

“Each of our clients has had their life turned into a nightmare in a lot of ways,” said Gerry Weber, one of the attorneys. “They’ve got this scar on their records that will never disappear.”

Several plaintiffs faced professional repercussions as a result of the wrongful arrest, according to the complaint. One person had to take a drug test when he returned to work to keep his job. A military recruit’s enlistment date was delayed. A high school senior who hoped to attend college on a basketball scholarship was no longer allowed to play on his school’s team.

Robert (not his real name) lost his new job at a window supply company. The position could pay up to $60,000 a year—about $40,000 more than his previous job. While incarcerated, he missed three days of work, according to the complaint.

After he was released, he said he was fired after his employer saw his mugshot.

“That could have been a really good opportunity to make a lot of money,” said Robert, now 23. “I have a son and a girlfriend that I’m trying to marry, so I was looking forward to advancing up in the company.”

It took him more than a month to find another job.

“I just had to start over,” said Robert, who is now a truck driver. “Find a new career.”

Guider hopes the case holds the city and county responsible for what she considered a devastating ordeal. “It’s a different type of hurt when you get arrested for something you didn’t do,” said Guider. “On top of that [you’re taking] losses because of something you didn’t do.”

Andrea

03-30-2019, 11:31 PM

Police release body-cam video of Willie McCoy killing, showing him asleep in car

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/29/willie-mccoy-police-shooting-video-vallejo (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/29/willie-mccoy-police-shooting-video-vallejo)

Vallejo police have released footage of the killing of Willie McCoy at a Taco Bell, showing six officers shooting the 20-year-old who was sleeping in his car.

The disturbing body-camera videos show the young rapper had moved his hand to scratch his shoulder before officers opened fire. The footage is consistent with key claims of McCoy’s family, who watched footage earlier this month and said the officers “executed” him while he was not alert or awake. The videos, released after significant pressure, show:

The officers did not try to wake McCoy up or talk to him after they spotted a gun in his lap, and instead pointed their firearms at his head directly outside the car as he slept for several minutes.
One officer said: “I’m going to pull him out and snatch his ass.”
The officers then realized the firearm did not have a magazine in it, noting to each other that if it was loaded, it would have a single bullet in it: “He’s only got one shot if he shoots.”
The officers then appeared to make a plan to fire at him, with one saying: “If he reaches for it, you know what to do.”
McCoy eventually started to move, scratching his shoulder and not yet appearing alert or saying anything to officers, and several seconds later, all six officers fired at him.

Vallejo police officials slowed down the video in the final seconds before the shootings, adding a caption that said “hand reaches to gun on lap”. The videos of the 9 February incident, however, are blurry in that moment and show McCoy’s body moving slightly, but do not capture his hand moving to the firearm, which is not visible in the footage.

Marc McCoy, Willie’s older brother, told the Guardian on Friday that he was glad the public would finally see the video, but was not confident it would lead to justice.

“There’s a thousand videos on YouTube that show police misconduct, whether it’s beatings of citizens or killing them,” said Marc, 50. “It gets dismissed … The Vallejo police saw the video, and they don’t think there’s anything wrong with it or that the officers did anything criminal.”

The police department in Vallejo, 30 miles north-east of San Francisco, has repeatedly claimed that the six officers fired out of “fear for their own safety”. The footage, however, shows some of them talking somewhat calmly for nearly five minutes before they opened fire. Two officers began shooting almost immediately after they arrived on scene as backup.

After the officers stopped shooting, they all kept their guns pointed at the car, shouting: “Let me see your hands! Put your hands up!” One said: “Officers are OK.”

Police hit Willie with an estimated 25 shots, including in his face, throat, chest, ear and arms. John Burris, the family’s lawyer, showed reporters graphic photos of Willie’s body at a news conference Friday, saying: “He was shot to pieces.”

He said he plans to soon file a civil rights lawsuit against the officers and police agency.

“They were never trying to be peaceful or de-escalate the situation. It’s about being rough and tough,” said Marc, adding that the police’s plan seemed to be “‘If he moves, I’m gonna kill him’”.

Police also released audio of the 911 call, which came from a Taco Bell employee, who did not express concerns about the driver being threatening or having a gun, but simply said a man was “unresponsive” in his car in the drive-thru: “I’ve already had people try to knock on the window. I have no idea what’s going on.”

His family has said police should have treated this like a medical emergency.

“We all have to come together in some way and put pressure on the politicians to hold police accountable,” added Marc. “It’s crazy that police still have these jobs. It’s crazy that as a country we are not outraged by this conduct.”

One of the officers who fired at Willie had previously shot and killed an unarmed man and is the subject of an ongoing excessive force lawsuit. A second officer was previously sued in a police brutality case. The officers have not commented on the shooting.

Melissa Nold, another attorney for the family, told the Guardian the video made clear that police had no plan to safely handle the situation.

“There’s no attempt to preserve human life,” she said. “It’s terrible to watch … Everyone’s takeaway is he should not have died.”

Police had repeatedly refused to release the video, only giving a private viewing to three relatives and barring their attorney from watching it. But the department published it Friday following a records request and intensifying backlash.

Police officials did not give the family or their attorney a heads-up about their decision to release the video, said Nold, saying it caught them off-guard.

“It’s just a continuing of the insult to injury, the continuous disrespect,” she said. “They’re having to relive it without warning. It’s cruel.”

Willie was a beloved rapper in the Bay Area, whose career was on the rise when police killed him.

He had recently returned from a tour with his group and was likely fatigued that evening, said David Harrison, Willie’s cousin. The video, he said, made clear that Willie was a “sitting duck in that car” and police “didn’t want to give him a chance”.

He added: “This was a racist act.”

Andrea

04-05-2019, 11:18 AM

LMPD handcuffed a black teen for a wide turn, then told him to 'quit with the attitude'

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/investigations/2019/04/04/louisville-kentucky-police-stopped-frisked-handcuffed-black-teen-for-wide-turn/3210229002/ (https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/investigations/2019/04/04/louisville-kentucky-police-stopped-frisked-handcuffed-black-teen-for-wide-turn/3210229002/)

He was homecoming king at Central High School and had just graduated with several scholarships.

He had never been arrested or in trouble before and had a steady job selling new cars at a major dealership.

But 18-year-old Tae-Ahn Lea is black and lives in Park Duvalle, in Louisville’s West End. And when he borrowed his mom’s car to go get a slushie one day last August, he found himself being pulled over by the Louisville Metro Police Department's Ninth Mobile Division for the most minor of traffic violations — making a "wide turn" onto another street.

Before he was let go 25 minutes later, he was pulled from his car, frisked and handcuffed. His car was searched by a drug-sniffing dog, then by police officers who went through his wallet and even looked under the lid of his drink for contraband.

He was forced to stand on the street, embarrassed, as traffic drove by, with the cuffs chafing his wrists, as one officer asked him, "Why do you have this negative view towards the police?"

Nearly 1 million people have since viewed a video of the traffic stop on YouTube, and more than 17,000 have commented on it. Many said it shows exactly why minorities distrust law enforcement.

"Cops have a habit of making citizens enemies for life," one commentor said.

Police experts who viewed the video for the Courier Journal say that while the stop — except for the frisk — was legal, it was disturbingly disproportionate to the alleged offense and it showed the kind of bad policing that undermines the department's need to be effective.

LMPD Chief Steve Conrad has said that aggressive policing in high-crime areas reduces violent crime. He declined to comment on Lea's stop last Aug. 9, citing a pending investigation of the officers involved.

A police stop turns contentious
"Do you know why I stopped you?" Detective Kevin Crawford asked Lea after pulling him over.

Lea had no idea, he said.

"When you turned … you turned in to the far left lane," Crawford said. "You’re supposed to turn in the right lane."

Lea, expecting to get a citation, followed orders, even asking for permission to reach into his pocket to get his license. But the officer grabbed him by both wrists and pulled him from the car.

"Mama, they are taking me out of the vehicle," he cried out to his mother, who had called on his cellphone.

Three times Crawford asked Lea if he had any drugs or weapons. Three times Lea told him no.

Crawford frisked him, though Lea had done nothing to indicate he was "armed and presently dangerous," as the U.S. Supreme Court requires before such a search.

"Put your hands on the car and spread your feet," Crawford demanded.

"What are you checking me for?" Lea asked. "I told you I didn’t do anything. … Why'd you f------ took me out of the car?”

"We are allowed to," Crawford's partner, Detective Gabe Hellard, said.

"This is some bulls---," Lea said.

"Quit with the attitude," Hellard told him. "Stop the clenching-your-fist thing. We’re here for you. There's a shooting every day. Ain't nobody been nasty to you at all."

Police found nothing on Lea, so they asked permission to search the car. Lea declined, as is his right.

Then they brought in a police dog that they said "alerted" them to contraband inside Lea's mother's 2011 Dodge Charger, although it is not apparent on the body camera footage from the officers who came to the scene.

But it gave police probable cause to search the car.

And to place Lea into handcuffs.

"You're not under arrest, but you are not free to go," Hellard told him. "I'm not going to fight you and I’m not going to chase you. I had to chase some guy last night, and I haven’t recovered from it."

'They approach this young man as a threat'
Experts on policing, including some former officers, used words such as "deplorable" and "depressing" to describe the stop.

They said the officers were doing what they were told — trying to find guns in a high-crime area to cut down on violent crime.

But as former Tallahassee Police Department Officer Seth Stoughton, now a law professor at University of South Carolina, puts it, it is "an excellent example of the difference between lawful policing and good policing."

"They approach this young man as a threat — as a criminal,” said Stoughton. "And that is different than the way we want officers to interact with people."

The authorities also say traffic stops don't work as a crime-fighting tool. A study released in November of nearly 2 million traffic stops in Nashville, Tennessee, for example, found they failed to reduce crime in the short or long term.

'What did you pull him over for?'
Seven minutes had elapsed, but the stop was far from finished.

By now, Lea was handcuffed on a busy street, standing in front of a police cruiser and worried that somebody might see him.

He watched as the police dog jumped from seat to seat and as police tore through the vehicle.

One officer used a plastic crowbar to pry off the cover on the electric window buttons.

A second rifled every item in Lea's wallet after the dog allegedly showed an interest in it.

"Sir, have you had anything in your wallet like narcotics — anything that could have touched your wallet?" canine officer Jeff McCauley asked.

Lea shook his head no.

His mother, Tija Jackson, a juvenile probation officer and private investigator, arrived at the scene, where the three white officers were holding her son.

"What did you pull him over for?” she asked Crawford, who threatens to take her to jail if she doesn't stay back. "There is nothing in there. It's my car."

"I am the detective who pulled him over," Crawford said. "He committed a traffic violation. He conducted an improper turn on to 18th Street.

"Luckily for you, ma'am, everything was captured on body camera," he added.

"Luckily enough for you," Jackson said.

"Oh, really,” the officer replied.

As the search continued, Hellard tries to engage Lea in conversation.

"Have you been in trouble before?" the officer asked.

"None,” Lea shook his head, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.

"Anything as a juvenile at all?" Hellard asked.

No, Lea said.

Hellard asked where Lea works. "You say you sell cars at Oxmoor Ford Lincoln?"

"That’s good money," Hellard said. "You actually like a car salesman?"

'If it's a wrong turn, give him a ticket'
Police found nothing in the car.

McCauley announced he was going to try to calm Lea's mother down, but they ended up in a confrontation.

"Are you Mom? Are you doing all right?" he asked.

"I'm pissed off, for real," she said.

"What you pissed off for?" McCauley asked.

"My son … is a working young man," she replied. "He doesn't cause no problems. And they took him out of the car. And he asked, 'Why you taking me out of the car?' And he said, ‘Cuz I can.’

"If it's a wrong turn, give him a ticket," she said.

"That’s not what we’re out here for," McCauley responded. "We are a violent crimes unit.

"We don’t pick and choose where we work. We are told by our commanders, by the chief’s office, where to patrol, and all that is based off criminal violence statistics. The 18th Street corridor, Victory Park, Park Hill, they are the areas we are told to patrol. That’s why we are here.

“We are just doing our jobs to try to make the city a little safer,” he said.

"I don’t want the history,” she interrupted. “I just want to know why my son …”

He cut her off. “I’m trying to explain, but you don’t want to hear it.”

"I'm not here that for that,” she said. “I don’t need the sass. I appreciate you being out here for violent crime. My son is not a violent nothing. He’s never been in JCYC (the Jefferson County Youth Center) — nothing. He got a job.”

“I’m not saying he is a violent criminal."

"So, why is he out of the car in handcuffs?"

"I came over here to try to explain it to you, but you don’t want to hear it. You don’t want to hear the truth."

"If it doesn't have nothing to do with my son, I don’t want to hear it,” she said before walking away. “I am dealing with my son right now."

'Why do you have this negative view towards the police?'
Meanwhile, Lea was still standing on the street in cuffs, which were pulling at his wrists. He’d been out of the car for nearly 20 minutes, as traffic passed by, with him in plain sight.

Hellard was still talking to him.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he said, “why do you have this negative view towards the police? What has ever happened in your life personally where you can give me a good explanation?"

"Absolutely nothing," Lea said.

"So, why are we in this situation?" Hellard asked.

"You!" Lea responded, his voice rising. "F---ing you!"

"We don't know who you are," Hellard said. "I don’t know that you graduated and got several scholarships and have a good job. You can continue with your negative view towards me, I guess. I just figured I would try to understand."

"You will never understand," Lea said.

The stop was winding down.

Driving while black: Lawyer says he was racially profiled in luxury car

Out of the hearing of the mother and son, McCauley complained to other officers that Jackson would "make stuff up" and "spill that over the internet. She’ll get a thousand likes. It’s a disease.”

Then he got in his car to leave. “Good girl, Ripley,” he said to his dog.

Hellard asked Lea, “If I take you out of these handcuffs, are you going to fight me? I know you’re mad.”

The young man, who stands 5 foot 8 and weighs 140 pounds, answers no, and his arms are freed.

Twenty-four minutes after Lea was stopped, Crawford finished writing the citation and handed it to him.

“Have a wonderful day,” he said.

'Nothing about this kid suggested he was a gangbanger'
Two months later, a judge dismissed the traffic citation against Lea.

Neither Crawford nor Hellard, who issued the ticket, showed up in court to defend it.

Policing experts who viewed the video for the Courier Journal, including Margo Frasier, the former sheriff of Travis County, Texas, said it was a "chickens---" violation and obviously a pretext for making the stop.

That itself wasn’t illegal, said Frasier, who later monitored the Austin, Texas, police department and now serves as the federally appointed chief monitor for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana.

And she said police had the legal right to make Lea get out of the car. But she said there was no basis for searching him after he was removed from his car, which made the frisk illegal.

Both the Supreme Court and Louisville police say a pat down may be conducted only on reasonable grounds that the subject is armed and dangerous.

"Nothing about this kid suggested he was a gangbanger who had three AK-47s in the car," she said.

The officers also violated LMPD policy, as set out in its standard operating procedures, by failing to identify themselves and failing to ask if there was a legitimate reason for what the driver did.

Traffic stops have been controversial in Louisville.

The Courier Journal reported in January that black people are cited at six times the rate of white people for possession of marijuana, and that most are charged after being stopped for minor violations.

Lea's stop came about a month before the Rev. Kevin Cosby, senior pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church, was stopped at the corner of 22nd Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard for an alleged traffic violation.

Cosby, who is also president of the historically black Simmons College, later said he was treated like a criminal during the stop, although Conrad announced last month that an investigation found no evidence of racial profiling.

'If I were him, I would have had an attitude too'
In Lea's stop, Frasier and other experts said he showed remarkable patience and restraint.

"If I were him, I would have had an attitude too," she said.

Stoughton, the former Tallahassee officer, said the overarching problem with the stop was not that it was illegal, but that it was inappropriate and counterproductive.

“People obey and cooperate with police when they trust them,” he said. “That view is undermined when they are seen as abusing their authority.”

Even in high-crime areas, most people aren’t criminals, he said, "so it can really rub community members the wrong way when they are all viewed as targets for investigation."

Frank Baumgartner, a University of North Carolina political science professor and author of “Suspect Citizens: What 20 Million Traffic Stops Tell Us About Policing and Race,” said hot-spot policing like that practiced by Louisville police is a "standard practice" but a "bad idea."

He said his study of 20,000 stops in North Carolina found that most came up dry — that police rarely found guns or other contraband.

"Go to a high-crime area and find a man of color in a nice car," is how Baumgartner described the strategy. "It’s a needle in the haystack approach that isn’t paying off, given it alienates tens of thousands of people a year."

In the Louisville stop, he said, "Obviously it alienated that young man and infuriated his mother, and it didn’t lead to anything. It is one little nick taken out of community relations and the trust the community of police."

In an email, Jessie Halladay, a Louisville Police spokeswoman, said "we see examples of cooperation between police and the community every day."

But, she said, "there is always room for improvement" and the department understands "tension exists between the police and community, particularly as it relates to traffic stops."

She said the agency is "developing a public engagement effort" to be announced in coming weeks “that will lean into our relationship with the community.”

But she said the department won’t reconsider its tactical use of traffic stops because it is "an effective strategy to help control crime."

Lea, who now attends Tri-City Barber College in Louisville and is selling cars again part time, told the Courier Journal the mayor and police chief need to put a stop to such stops.

"They could go wrong very easily, with somebody who had a little more of a temper than me," he said.

Jackson said such pretextual stops only create more friction between the community and police.

She and her son have retained a lawyer, Lonita Baker, and expect to file a lawsuit.

"We want to let people know what they are doing — and not just to my son," Jackson said.

Andrea

04-22-2019, 08:41 AM

Shocking viral video appears to show deputy slamming teen's head into the ground

https://www.kcra.com/article/shocking-viral-video-appears-to-show-deputy-slamming-teen-s-head-into-the-ground/27222755?fbclid=IwAR227ZE3XA7oy_1Qg9YzrWNvQ4BrQq00 R2K18a_1WDcSAdL690S7xUjbb2o (https://www.kcra.com/article/shocking-viral-video-appears-to-show-deputy-slamming-teen-s-head-into-the-ground/27222755?fbclid=IwAR227ZE3XA7oy_1Qg9YzrWNvQ4BrQq00 R2K18a_1WDcSAdL690S7xUjbb2o)

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. (video from WPLG) —
A Broward County sheriff's deputy is on "restricted administrative assignment" after a video surfaced that appears to show him slamming a teenage boy's head into the ground and then punching the teen in the head.

The video of the Thursday incident appears to show one Florida deputy spraying pepper spray in the face of a teen boy. As the teen appears to walk away with his hands on his face, the deputy follows him, grabs him and slams him to the ground.

Another deputy then jumps onto the boy's back, slams his face into the pavement more than once and punches the teen in the head.

In the background, bystanders can be heard yelling "What are you doing?" and "He's bleeding."

The video, which has since gone viral on social media, has sparked outrage over the deputy's conduct.

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony released a video statement Friday saying there would be a "thorough investigation" into the incident.

"We will look at this as a fact-finding measure to ensure that we hold folks accountable," said Tony, who was appointed to his position about three months ago. "I was appointed to this position exclusively about accountability and that accountability will be held not just for sake of when we are right, but in the cases where we may be wrong."

The Broward County Sheriff's office said on its website that the Division of Internal Affairs is investigating the incident.

Deputy says he 'had to act quickly'

An arrest report from the sheriff'spffice says detectives with the Tamarac Crime Suppression Team were on "proactive patrol" at the Tamarac Town Square Plaza because of recent student fights at the strip mall. The day before the deputies' encounter, the report says, there had been a large fight that resulted in damage to property and a bystander's vehicle.

The officer writing the report, Christopher Krickovich, said a fight Thursday stopped before he and other deputies walked up. As the crowd dispersed, the deputies saw a teen who had been involved in Wednesday's fight. Krickovich wrote he and another deputy -- identified as Sgt. LaCerra -- approached the teen and put him into custody because he was trespassing.

Krickovich said as he was detaining the teen, he noticed another boy wearing a "red tank top" reach down and try to grab the phone of the teen being detained, the report says. LaCerra told the boy to stay back because Krickovich was on the ground with his back turned, Krickovich wrote in the report.

"At this point, the male with the red tank top, took an aggressive stance towards Sgt. LaCerra," Krickovich wrote. "The male with the red tank top bladed his body and began clenching his fist."

That's when LaCerra sprayed the boy with pepper spray, the report says.

Krickovich wrote in the report that he saw the big crowd of 200-plus students "converging on the two of us," so he jumped on the boy with the red tank top.

"With the crowd closing in and the loud yelling and threats towards us, I pushed down the male to ensure my weight was full on his person so he could not attempt to take flight or fight against us," Krickovich wrote, adding that it felt as though the boy in the red tank was trying to push up while he was pushing down.

"I had to act quickly, fearing I would get struck or having a student potentially grab weapons off my belt or vest," Krickovich wrote.

Krickovich said he punched the boy in the head "as a distractionary technique to free his right hand" from under his face.

The 15-year-old boy, who has not been identified, was taken to Coral Springs Medical Center, cleared and then taken to Juvenile Assessment Center. He was charged with assault, resisting arrest and trespassing, according to CNN affiliate WFOR-TV. He appeared in court Friday morning and was released to his parents.

Mayor says deputy should be fired

Broward Mayor Mark Bogen released a statement Friday condemning the actions seen in the video.

"The behavior of these Broward Sheriff's Office deputies was outrageous and unacceptable," Bogen said. "The officer who jumped on the student, punched the student and banged his head to the ground should be fired immediately. There is no excuse for a law enforcement officer to harm a teenager who was on the ground and who gave no resistance."

Bogen said he also had a problem with the deputy who threw the boy on the ground after pepper spraying him.

"After being sprayed, the teen held his face and walked away," Bogen said. "If the deputy wanted to arrest the student, he could have easily done so without throwing him to the ground. I hope the appropriate authorities investigate this conduct and take the appropriate action."

Celebrities also reacted to the video on social media Saturday.

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers wrote on Twitter: "So wrong!! Hurts me to my soul!! To think that could be my sons. Scary times man."

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wondered on Twitter "What the hell is wrong with our country? This is insane yet routine. So demoralizing."

Andrea

04-22-2019, 09:47 AM

Moment cops open fire on unarmed black couple near Yale campus as they sat in car singing along to R&B singer Avant because police wrongly believed their vehicle had been involved in a robbery

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6946347/Police-officers-open-fire-unarmed-African-American-couple-Connecticut.html (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6946347/Police-officers-open-fire-unarmed-African-American-couple-Connecticut.html)

Protest erupted along the streets of Connecticut after video surfaced of a police officer opening fire on a vehicle being driven by an unarmed black couple last Tuesday

Stephanie Washington, 22, and her boyfriend Paul Witherspoon III, 21, were shot at by Hamden police officer Devin Eaton and Yale police officer Terrance Pollack as they sat unarmed in their car near Yale university's campus in New Haven.

Authorities believed that the vehicle that the couple was driving had been involved in an armed robbery of a newspaper delivery person at a local Hamden gas station around 4am, CBS News reports.

The two departments then caught up with the vehicle - which was being driven by Witherspoon.

Surveillance footage shows the moment the responding officers jumped our of their SUV and fired multiple rounds at the couple last Tuesday.

During the shooting, Washington was shot in the face and has since been hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to university officials.

Witherspoon was left unharmed.

During the CCTV video, police officer Devin Eaton is seen leaping out of the police car and raising his gun towards the vehicle.

He then begins to fire multiple shots at the unarmed couple after Witherspoon abruptly gets out of the vehicle before running away from the car towards the end of the street.

Video from inside the couple's vehicle shows that prior to the shooting, they had been enjoying each other's company and were singing songs to each other.

Officer Eaton has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Pollock was also placed on leave, as standard protocol for any instance when a Yale officer discharges their weapon.

The shooting has led to an outpouring of peaceful demonstrations along the streets from groups such as the Black Lives Matter movement and Yale University students, with protesters claiming the black couple were unfairly targeted.

On Thursday, hundreds of protesters took the streets and blocked traffic near the university as community organizer Kerry Ellington addressed more than 200 students outside Yale University's Woodbridge Hall.

Witherspoon's uncle, Rodney Williams, told CBS News that the incident also sheds light on how police in the country are trained.

He said: 'You need to look at what's really going on with the police ... really look at how the police look at residents period.

'The police could be black, white, Puerto Rican ... it's just a police issue ... I think we need to be respected as human beings and I feel like they really don't.'

The two police officers have now been placed under administrative leave.

Connecticut State Police have said they will release further information on their investigations later this week.

The Mayors of Hamden and New Haven have teemed up with the various police department for a joint Wednesday conference where they worked on curbing such incidents from taking place again.