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Ch. 2 Investigation of Georgia police shootings finds nearly half shot in back, unarmed
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ch-2-investigation-georgia-police-shootings-finds-/nppnL/?ecmp=wsbtv_social_twitter_sfp A Channel 2 Action News - Atlanta Journal Constitution investigation found Maurice was one of 90 Georgians killed by police since 2010 who were either unarmed, shot in the back or both. That's nearly half of all 184 cases reviewed |
Video shows tased East student wasn't moving
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2015/dec/22/video-shows-tased-east-student-wasnt-moving/ A student resource officer tased a 16-year-old Victoria East High School student who was standing still against a wall in November, a video posted to YouTube shows. The video, posted Sunday by an anonymous source, shows a Nov. 3 incident in which school officials cordoned off the student in a hallway. |
NYPD Cop Indicted For Falsely Arresting Man Who Recorded Him
http://gothamist.com/2015/12/22/cop_watch_season_2_the_reckoning.php Manhattan prosecutors have done something rare indeed: indicted a cop for allegedly falsely arresting someone and lying about it. NYPD Officer Jonathan Munoz, 32, was arraigned this morning on two felony charges of filing false reports, and three misdemeanor charges of official misconduct and false statements. "Had this officer’s attempts to conceal his alleged misconduct succeeded, an innocent man may still be facing charges for a fabricated crime," Manhattan DA Cy Vance said in a statement. Munoz's prosecution stems from his role in arresting Jason Disisto, then 21, in the spring of 2014. From our report this April: Disisto was standing outside of a Puerto Rican restaurant around 1 a.m. when he saw Officer Jonathan Munoz reaching into his friend's pocket. Disisto asked a friend to give him his phone so he could record, but as he lined up the shot, Munoz spotted him and rushed over to grab him. A brief struggle for the phone ensued, with two other officers joining in, and it ended with Disisto in cuffs in the back of a police car. Before the officers drove away, one threw the cellphone out the window. |
Baltimore County officer placed on administrative duty as second video of Towson arrest surfaces
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/towson/bs-md-co-towson-arrest-folo-20151222-story.html A Baltimore County police officer was placed on administrative duty Tuesday, three days after a video began circulating of him repeatedly punching a 19-year-old man during an arrest in Towson early Saturday, officials said. A second video that emerged Tuesday showed two police officers struggling to take down Zachary Blumenstein, with one of the officers grabbing him by the back of the neck and punching him at least five times in the face as he resisted. Blumenstein was also pepper-sprayed twice before being handcuffed and charged with resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, trespass and failure to obey a police officer, county police have said. |
Dearborn cop fatally shoots unarmed suspect in Detroit
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2015/12/23/detroit-shooting/77835932/ The off-duty officer — who has reportedly only been on the Dearborn Police Department for a few years — spotted the 34-year-old man suspected of a larceny from a few days ago. The officer tried to stop the suspect who then ran. According to the source, the officer and suspect got into a wrestling match before the suspect broke free and ran again. The officer caught up with him and tried to subdue him with pepper spray. The suspect then reportedly tried to grab the officer’s weapon, at which point he was shot by the officer, according to the source. Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad confirmed the suspect was wanted for a misdemeanor warrant out of Redford Township, near Dearborn’s border with Detroit. There was a brief chase on foot and a struggle leading to the fatal shooting, Haddad said. The officer was taken to the hospital, Haddad said. The officer is white and the suspect was black. Police did not release the name of the man nor information about the officer. Bolding mine |
Sanctions likely in controversial police shooting case
Black teen’s shooting by white officer typified many AJC findings about fatal police shootings in Georgia. http://www.myajc.com/news/news/crime-law/sanctions-likely-in-controversial-police-shooting-/nprLz/ Waiters, who was black, was both unarmed and shot in the back. The 19-year-old ran when police arrived to break up a neighborhood fight he’d been watching, and was already lying face down on the ground with one arm handcuffed when Lewis shot him twice in the back. The teen hadn’t committed a crime. |
Chicago Cop Shoots Dead Teen, 56-Year-Old Woman
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chicago-cop-fatally-shoots-mentally-ill-teen-56-year-old-woman_567ecb6ae4b014efe0d850f6?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg 00000067 A Chicago officer responding to a domestic disturbance call fatally shot a teenager being treated for a mental illness, along with a 56-year-old woman. A second victim, who has been identified only as a 56-year-old woman, was a downstairs tenant and bystander. The woman's daughter, Latisha Jones, told the Tribune she found her mother dead with a gunshot wound to her neck. |
Phoenix police shoot and kill man accused of hurling rocks at officers
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/phoenix-police-shoot-and-kill-man-accused-of-hurling-rocks-at-officers/ Arizona police shot and killed a man who they say attacked an officer with a rock on Saturday morning, AZCentral reports. The man, described only as white and about 30 years old, began hurling rocks at a police officer leaving a Phoenix Police Department precinct station, Sgt. Jonathan Howard told reporters. After the officer called for back-up, the man began throwing rocks at the police precinct. The man shattered a door with a rock and threw a rock at an officer who was coming out of the building. |
Grand Jury Declines to Indict Officers in Tamir Rice Case
by CORKY SIEMASZKO and DANIELLA SILVA The fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by two Cleveland cops was a "perfect storm of human error" but not a crime, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor announced Monday... http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...l_nbn_20151228 |
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Even though the court refused to indict the officers involved today, I think they opened themselves up to the family suing via civil court.
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Quintonio had a loving foster family that cared about him, was trying to give him a better chance at life than the sad life he was rescued from by his foster parents. It's heartbreaking. It makes me angry and sad, too. http://rollingout.com/2015/12/27/chi...other-mistake/ |
The Death Philly Cops Won’t Explain: Is Omar Lopez the Next Freddie Gray?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/30/the-death-philly-cops-won-t-explain-is-omar-lopez-the-next-freddie-gray.html The city’s transit authority won’t release video showing what turned a peaceful encounter into a deadly one after a cop tased a man who then lost consciousness in his car. PHILADEPHIA — This Christmas the family of Omar Lopez placed a small toy tree at a gravestone to honor their son who was killed in mysterious circumstances by police this fall. Lopez, 24, died following an altercation with a transit officer in October. More than eight weeks later, his family is no closer to understanding the circumstances surrounding Lopez’s death. Despite public officials’ recent parades of claims that transparency is a priority, so far city officials are being of no help to the Lopez family in their search for answers. |
Cop savagely beats Hawaiian man after he performs native ‘healing prayer’ near seal on the beach
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/cop-savagely-beats-hawaiian-man-after-he-performs-native-healing-prayer-near-seal-on-the-beach/ A police officer, and the city that employs him, after the cop savagely beat him for praying next to a sun-bathing Hawaiian monk seal on the beach. According to Courthouse News, Jamie Kalani Rice was on Nanakuli beach on Sept. 10, 2014, when he approached a seal laying on the sand, believing it to be injured or dying. Rice then sat about ten feet away from the seal, chanting and rubbing sand between his hands and on his body as part of a ritual prayer. |
Denver Inmate's Death At Hands Of Deputies Ruled A Homicide
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-marshall-homicide_569002c0e4b0c8beacf6d9db?section=politics On Nov. 11, 2015, deputies at the Denver jail forcibly restrained a man who was experiencing a psychotic episode. When the man became unresponsive, he was sent to a nearby hospital, where he was put on life support and died nine days later. The man, 50-year-old Michael Marshall, was originally arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and trespassing at a motel where he had been staying. Now, nearly two months after the fact, Marshall's death has been ruled a homicide. A report released Friday by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner concludes that Marshall died from "complications of positional asphyxia to include aspiration pneumonia due to being physically restrained by law enforcement during an acute psychotic episode." In other words, Marshall vomited during the incident, and law enforcement officers restrained him in such a manner that he choked on it, going without oxygen for 10 to 15 minutes, his family members told ABC7. Marshall also went into cardiac arrest. |
New Video Appears To Show Exonerated Cop Shooting Handcuffed Man
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/matthew-taylor-james-barker-video_56915b38e4b0a2b6fb7056df Authorities are reopening their investigation into an exonerated Utah police officer's fatal shooting of a suspect after newly discovered video appears to show the officer pumping several rounds into the suspect as he lies handcuffed on the ground. |
Ex-Las Vegas police officer indicted on federal civil rights violation
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/ex-las-vegas-police-officer-indicted-federal-civil-rights-violation A former Las Vegas police officer was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on felony charges of roughing up a woman he suspected was a prostitute. Richard Scavone, 49, was charged with violating the civil rights of the woman when he used excessive force while arresting her in January 2015 and falsifying his report of the encounter to obstruct an FBI investigation, according to the Justice Department. The woman was identified in the indictment only by her initials, A.O. Scavone, who also faces a local misdemeanor battery charge in the incident, has been summoned to answer the two felony counts in federal court on Jan. 20. He is to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court that day, as well. According to the indictment, Scavone, while acting under color of law, handcuffed the woman on Jan. 6, 2015, and assaulted her several times. He grabbed the woman around her neck and threw her to the ground, struck her in the forehead with an open palm, slammed her face into the hood of his patrol car two times and slammed her into the door of his car, the indictment alleges. The actions resulted in "bodily injury" to the woman, the indictment alleges. Scavone also falsified a use-of-force report about his confrontation with the woman, according to the indictment. Authorities last year said Scavone was wearing a body camera during the scuffle, but police have not made the recording public. Scavone had stopped a woman about 5 a.m. near Tropicana Avenue and Interstate 15, where he said she was loitering and trying to solicit work as a prostitute, according to authorities. His supervisors concluded his use of force was "excessive" and "unreasonable," Undersheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters after the district attorney's office filed criminal charges in March. The woman was charged with littering and loitering, but those charges were dismissed, McMahill said. Scavone was initially put on paid administrative leave after he was charged last year, but police on Tuesday did not immediately respond to a request to explain his departure from the department. The federal case was investigated by the Las Vegas FBI and is being prosecuted jointly by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., and the Nevada U.S. attorney's office. |
Who in the world is training hospital staff and police officers these days! Has common sense gone right out the door? |
3 Baltimore officers charged in alleged assault on juvenile
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-officers-charged-20160114-story.html Three Baltimore officers have been charged in an alleged assault on a juvenile at Sinai Hospital a year ago, police announced Thursday. Officer Duane Williams Jr., a seven-year veteran assigned to the Northwest District, was charged with second-degree child abuse, second-degree assault and misconduct in office, police said. He has been suspended without pay. Officer Bijay Ranabhat, a two-year veteran, was charged with misconduct in office and suspended with pay. Officer Lonnie White Jr., who has been with the department for two years, was charged with perjury and misconduct in office and suspended with pay. "Misconduct by police officers is an insult to the good and noble work our police officers do every hour," Commissioner Kevin Davis said in a statement. Police said the assault occurred Jan. 14, 2015. Further details were not released, and court records were not immediately available. Prosecutors have declined to comment, citing the pending cases. The department's internal affairs division was notified of the incident last January, police said. An indictment against two of the officers was handed up Wednesday, police said; the other officer was charged on a criminal summons. "The union has not been given enough information to comment," said Lt. Gene Ryan, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, which represents Baltimore officers. This week, the Police Department announced a restructuring of its internal affairs unit, a move that Davis said will improve the ability to hold officers accountable for wrongdoing. "I will defend cops when they're right. I will train and counsel cops when they make mistakes while trying to do the right thing," Davis said Tuesday. "And if I have to, I will discipline, fire, criminally charge police officers who betray their fellow officers and our community." |
Attorney says video disputes police account of shooting
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-mouzon-police-shooting-lawsuit-20160114-story.html The lawyer for a man shot by Baltimore police three years ago is claiming a new video shows that officers lied about the circumstances that led up to the shooting. When police officers shot Shaun Mouzon in January 2013, an officer wrote in charging documents that they did so because Mouzon had driven his car at them. But attorney A. Dwight Pettit said surveillance camera video he obtained from the city under a public records request tells a different story. "The car was stopped in traffic," Pettit said. "The allegation that their lives were in danger by the movement of the car is absolutely ridiculous and is an absolute misstatement of the facts." The video, also obtained by The Baltimore Sun through a records request, shows Mouzon's vehicle pulling into traffic at a stoplight on Edmondson Avenue, with several officers following in an unmarked patrol car, their lights activated. Officers run up to the driver's and passenger sides. It is unclear when the officers begin firing, but none appear to be standing directly in front of the car as it slowly pulls off and then flees the area. Pettit said he believes the video shows officers firing even before the vehicle starts to move. Mouzon eventually crashed his vehicle several blocks away. Police found no weapon, but nevertheless Mouzon was charged with two handgun-related counts. All charges were eventually dropped. |
Alabama ex-cop acquitted of slamming, paralyzing Indian grandfather
https://www.rt.com/usa/329006-alabama-police-indian-national/ After two previous mistrials, a federal judge has acquitted former police officer Eric Parker, who was charged with violating a Indian citizen's civil rights after throwing him to the ground and partially paralyzing him during a sidewalk stop last year. In February 2015, Parker, who was responding to a call about a "skinny black guy" walking suspiciously in a Madison, Alabama, neighborhood, encountered non-English speaking Indian national Sureshbhai Patel, who was walking near his son's house. Police dashcam video captured Parker slamming the grandfather, then 57, to the ground, leaving him partially paralyzed. |
Westlake cop accused of punching, choking man during interrogation, new court filing says
http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2016/01/westlake_cop_accused_of_punchi.html According to the filing: Toth and another officer went to T.A.'s apartment building in Cleveland on April 24, 2014. The officers wanted to talk to T.A. about a guns and firearms investigation, and he took the officers to another unit because his girlfriend was sleeping. T.A. sat down and Toth, who was standing, started interrogating him. Getting angry because he wasn't getting the answers that he wanted, Toth punched T.A. in the face, threw him ground and kicked him in the ribs. He then handcuffed T.A. and took him suspect to his SUV and and restrained him with a seat belt. As he drove, Toth continued to question T.A. and got even more agitated when he didn't hear what he wanted. Toth told T.A. that he was going to take him to cemetery and put him in the ground. He also said he would kill T.A.'s dog. Toth then drove T.A. to a cemetery in Rocky River and wrapped a seat belt around his neck. As a result, T.A. had open wounds in his mouth, bruises on his face and body and scratches on his neck. |
Grand jury indicts officer accused of fatally shooting unarmed naked man
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/grand-jury-indicts-officer-accused-fatally-shootin/np9L4/ A DeKalb County grand jury has indicted the officer who shot and killed an unarmed naked man. DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James presented his case to a grand jury Thursday seeking criminal charges against veteran DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen. Olsen shot and killed Anthony Hill, 27, in March claiming that Hill made an aggressive lunge toward him after responding to a call that a man was running around an apartment complex naked. |
Inmate Dies in Durham County Jail After Medical Neglect by Detention Staff
http://amplifyvoices.com/2016/01/21/inmate-dies-in-durham-county-jail-after-medical-neglect-by-detention-staff/ Sheriff’s Department Remains Silent About Death Durham, NC – A man incarcerated in the Durham County Detention Facility died in his cell on Tuesday, January 19 at approximately 5:30 am. The sheriff’s office has not made this death known to the public. According to those who were incarcerated with the man, his name is Matthew McCain. Eyewitnesses have reported that other inmates in Pod 3D were aware of McCain’s physical distress and pressed the emergency buttons in their cells several times, but their calls for help were ignored by Officer Boria, the detention officer on duty in Pod 3D that morning. McCain was not given medical attention and died as a result. His body remained in the cell for two hours until the coroner arrived at approximately 7:40 am. Inmates have reported that Officer Boria has ignored emergency call buttons in the past. While Boria bears responsibility in McCain’s death, this tragedy occurred within a widespread system of abuse in the Durham County Jail. Inside-Outside Alliance has heard many reports over the past few years which point to rampant medical neglect inside the jail, with prisoners routinely being denied care, including basic medical procedures and prescription medications. Inside-Outside Alliance has been forced, on several occasions, to publicly pressure Sheriff Andrews and his staff so that inmates can receive basic medical procedures. Detainees pay $20 for every medical visit, which is four times as much as a medical visit in a state prison. Medical care inside the jail is provided by Correct Care Solutions, a private healthcare corporation that is currently being sued in connection with the death of a Forsyth County inmate. As of the writing of this release, Sheriff Andrews has not released any information to the public about this criminally negligent homicide committed by his staff. In recent months, public pressure has been mounting for more transparency at the jail and for a community-based investigation into human rights abuses occurring there. Sheriff Andrews has insisted that inmates’ health and safety in detention is his highest priority. Yet not only has he kept Matthew McCain’s death a secret, but he has deliberately misled the public, listing McCain as “out of custody” due to “general release” on the jail’s website. Even as McCain’s body was lying dead on the floor of the Durham County jail, Sheriff Andrews and his staff appear to have been plotting to make it look as though he had simply been released. This is unacceptable and must be challenged by the public and the press. Finally, it is important to note that this act of violence has taken place amid a nationwide onslaught of police murders and jail deaths in a country marked by a deep history of racist state violence. The same structure that killed Sandra Bland and LaQuan McDonald has taken yet another life in the Durham County Jail, and just as lynch mobs used to leave their victims’ bodies exposed as a mechanism of terror, Durham detention staff left another body where it lay for over two hours. UPDATE: This post has been updated with Matthew McCain’s name in the hopes that his friends, family, and all those who knew him might be able to join in demanding justice for his death. |
Animal cruelty charge sought in police killing of cat
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/northampton-county/index.ssf/2015/12/animal_cruelty_charge_sought_i.html A Northampton County resident whose cat was killed by police wants the officer fired and charged criminally, the resident's attorney said Monday. The nearly 6-year-old cat, Sugar, escaped Dec. 6 from the North Catasauqua home of Tom Newhart and wandered several houses away to the home of Mike Lienert, said Newhart's attorney, Jenna Fliszar. Unable to catch the cat and concerned she may be injured, Lienert called police. Borough police officer Leighton Pursell responded, and his actions will be the subject of an investigation, borough solicitor Steve Goudsouzian said Monday. North Catasauqua Borough Council next meets Jan. 4, when it will determine what kind of investigation is warranted and who should conduct it, he said. |
Oakland: Body camera shows man screamed "I can't breathe" before death
http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_29435600/oakland-body-camera-shows-man-screamed-i-cant The video -- never released by police -- shows officers ignoring Jaramillo's pleas for help and continuing to restrain him, a tactic associated with in-custody deaths and sharply criticized after the 2014 death of Eric Garner in New York. Garner's family settled a lawsuit last year for $5.9 million. It raises questions about how Jaramillo -- who was never a suspect and has no criminal record in Alameda County -- ended up bloody, unconscious and eventually dead. |
Athens woman sues Athens-Clarke County, Clarke sheriff over son's jailhouse death
http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-01-25/athens-woman-sues-athens-clarke-county-clarke-sheriff-over-sons-jailhouse-death An Athens woman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Athens-Clarke County, Sheriff Ira Edwards and several of his deputies for the death of her son at the Clarke County Jail in 2013. Tiffany Cooper alleges in the lawsuit that jail officials repeatedly ignored requests by her 22-year-old son to be taken to the infirmary for chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness and other symptoms he was experiencing prior to being found dead in his cell. An autopsy found no signs of foul play in the death of Marcus Sanchez Cooper, or any drugs or alcohol in his system, and indicated he died of “possible arrhythmia,” according to the lawsuit. The county and sheriff were aware of at least two previous cases of prisoners dying after being denied medical attention for cardiac-related complaints, yet still failed to provide adequate medical care for prisoners at the jail, the lawsuit alleges. “The failure to properly train and supervise jail personnel in the proper procedures in dealing with medical complaints show a deliberate and conscious indifference...to the constitutionally mandated requirement that incarcerated individuals receive appropriate medical case,” the lawsuit states. At the time of his death, Cooper was in jail because he was arrested for a non-violent probation violation, having tested positive for marijuana. On the evening of Dec. 19, 2013, he “continuously pled with the on duty deputy sheriff/prison guards to be taken to the Athens-Clarke County Jail infirmary located at the jail,” the lawsuit states. “The guards refused to honor Cooper’s requests.” Those requests allegedly were witnessed by several other prisoners, as they were made by Cooper to deputies Michael Davis and Richard Lowery, who are personally named as defendants in the lawsuit, as well as unknown deputies who are identified in the lawsuit as John Does 1-10. “All such requests for a visit to the jail infirmary made by Cooper...were ignored by all the aforementioned guards,” the lawsuit alleges. After Cooper returned to his cell from having breakfast at about 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2013, Cooper was seen lying on his bed in the same position and unmoving, the lawsuit states. While dinner was being served some seven hours later, at 5:30, several prisoners asked Davis to check on Cooper, but the deputy “refused to at first.” Cooper’s cell mate then “proceeded to go into the cell to wake up Cooper and found Cooper to be unresponsive, cold and stiff,” the lawsuit states. The cell mate then alerted the deputy, and “only at that time did Prison Guard Michael Davis proceed to check on Cooper,” according to the lawsuit. The jail nurse who responded to the cell determined Cooper, based on rigor mortis, had been dead for six to eight hours, the lawsuit states. During a subsequent coroner’s inquest, the nurse testified she was not aware of Cooper’s complaints that he was feeling ill, which “lends credence to the fact that Cooper’s request for medical intervention went ignored by the guards,” the lawsuit alleges. “Over a period of two days prior to his death, Cooper complained to guards in front of witnesses that he was having chest pains, shortness of breath and symptoms that would justify a trip to the jail infirmary at the very least,” the lawsuit states. |
Family says dad who died at Durham County Jail was ‘neglected’
http://wncn.com/2016/01/26/family-says-dad-who-died-at-durham-county-jail-was-neglected/ Canady said McCain, age 29, complained from jail he wasn’t getting necessary medication to treat his diabetes and epilepsy. |
Ex-Marion deputy indicted in Tampa on civil rights charge after suspect's beating
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/ex-marion-deputy-indicted-in-tampa-on-civil-rights-charge-after-suspects/2262980 Suspect Derrick A. Price didn't spit, didn't kick, didn't threaten. He knelt and then lay on the pavement, hands outstretched, when arrested by sheriff's deputies in a community south of Ocala. Then he was beaten. "Stop resisting!" at least one deputy called out, as Price reacted to the blows. Five ex-Marion County deputies now face possible prison terms. As they captured Price, video captured their conduct. A federal grand jury in Tampa charged the last of the disgraced lawmen late Tuesday, accusing Jesse Alan Terrell, 33, of violating Price's civil rights. Four of Terrell's former colleagues had already pleaded guilty to the crime after accepting plea agreements. Price, 44, is black. The deputies are white. Graphic video of the beating, which went on for at least 30 seconds, was made public for the first time on Wednesday, prompting Price's attorneys to release a statement asking for calm. |
Officer’s dashcam microphone ‘intentionally destroyed’ before Laquan McDonald shooting
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/officers-dashcam-microphone-intentionally-destroyed-before-laquan-mcdonald-shooting/ The microphone equipment for the dashboard camera in the cruiser in which Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was riding on the night he fatally shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald had been “intentionally destroyed”, according to maintenance documents first acquired by DNAinfo . The records, which include service requests on hundreds of Chicago police vehicles, show that officers have routinely been involved in the intentional destruction and sabotage of body worn microphones that sync with dashboard camera video. After the video of the Laquan McDonald shooting was released in November, it was discovered that as much as 80% of the department’s dashcam footage was missing audio. This was determined to be due to technical failure, human error or in some cases, according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, “intentional destruction”. William Calloway, a Chicago-based activist who was instrumental in obtaining the release of the Laquan McDonald footage, said the logs proved a premeditated effort by officers to avoid transparency. “They are intentionally sabotaging this audio equipment because in their mind, they’re going to do something wrong or reckless when they’re outside on the beat,” Calloway said. He added that he was “absolutely not shocked or surprised about it at all”. The records show that the dashcam in Van Dyke’s vehicle, 6412, was repaired on 17 June 2014, about three months after it was reported broken. The next day, the system was reported broken again. What technicians called “intentional damage” was not repaired until 8 October 2014, DNAinfo reported. On 20 October, the dashcam (and one in another car) recorded Van Dyke’s fatal shooting of McDonald. The next month, technicians noted the missing audio in the car’s footage and suggested “it is apparent from the uploaded videos that personnel have failed to sync the mics”. In November 2015, after the video emerged, Van Dyke was charged with homicide . At least six other vehicle records show technicians noting that officers had not synced their microphones. Thirty service records show cases where either mics were not synced correctly or had been “intentionally defeated”. More than 100 records show systems missing microphones, or having damaged systems with missing components like batteries and antennas. Before the files were released, in December, Fraternal Order of Police president Dean Angelo scoffed at the idea that officers were intentionally disabling units. “If they’re claiming officers are purposely breaking things, then where is the history of that? Are [officers] being written up? Does the department have documentation to back those claims up? I’d like to see it,” Angelo told DNAinfo. In December, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that before the McDonald video was released, some officers threw their microphones on to a station roof, apparently in protest about having to be recorded. A sergeant who saw the incident reported it to Chicago’s Independent Police Review Authority. The Chicago police department owns a long legacy of misconduct that includes torture scandals concerning Commander John Burge and Detective Richard Zuley, and the operation of the Homan Square “black site”. The most recent scandal, over an apparent attempt to cover up the Laquan McDonald shooting, has resulted in a US Department of Justice investigation. |
Colorado Springs police officer allegedly choked, kicked suspect
http://gazette.com/colorado-springs-police-officer-allegedly-choked-kicked-suspect/article/1568797 A decorated Colorado Springs police veteran punched, kicked and choked a handcuffed man last month when a traffic crash investigation spun out of control, police said in an arrest affidavit. Sgt. Steven Biscaro was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of menacing, a felony, and third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, in the Dec. 2 confrontation in northeast Colorado Springs. According to Biscaro's arrest affidavit, Michael Ferguson, 43, was gasping for air, had bugged-out eyes and feared for his life before two El Paso County Sheriff deputies intervened to stop the policeman's attacks. "I'm gonna kill you," the man said Biscaro threatened as he struggled to breathe and began to lose vision. Related: Former deputy's murder trial scheduled for June The deputies reported Biscaro to their supervisor, police spokeswoman Lt. Catherine Buckley said. Ferguson filed a separate complaint against the 23-year officer, she said. Through his attorney, John Newsome, Biscaro denied investigators' request to interview him. Newsome, Thursday, said Biscaro "is entitled to the presumption of innocence and does contest and deny these charges." Biscaro's arrest comes amid a national debate on police use of force, fanned by at least two recent deaths resulting from police choke holds, including that of Eric Garner, a New York man whose dying words - "I can't breathe" - became a rallying cry for police critics. The encounter in Colorado Springs started with a traffic crash at Enchanted Circle North and Oro Blanco Drive, the affidavit said. Sheriff's deputy Chad Dickson was interviewing Ferguson after the crash when Ferguson "became unruly," at one point throwing a rock at the other driver, the affidavit said. Later, Ferguson, already handcuffed with his hands behind his back, was placed in leg chains connected to a belt restraint after he smashed his head against a window, opening a "large gash" on his forehead, the report said. Deputies said Ferguson was under control until Biscaro arrived and "tempers flared." Dickson said Biscaro was "condescending" toward Ferguson. A second deputy, Steven Brown, described Biscaro as being "scolding" and "short," at one point shutting the door on a yelling Ferguson, the report said. Ferguson, upset because Biscaro "kept interrupting him and wouldn't allow him to finish a sentence," started kicking the cruiser window, the affidavit said. Brown said he was not worried about Ferguson breaking the glass because he was restrained and "could not get any force generated," the report said. Brown, according to the report, said Biscaro kicked Ferguson in the cruiser two or three times while Ferguson was trying to "shelter himself." Then Biscaro "yanked" Ferguson from the car, causing him to fall onto the pavement, the report said. While Ferguson was on the ground, deputies said Biscaro put his knee on Ferguson's chest and started "choking" him, the affidavit said. Brown "remembered 'very well' that he (Biscaro) had both of his hands around Ferguson's neck," the report said. Dickson described Biscaro "using both hands with his thumbs overlapped around Mr. Ferguson's throat." One of the deputies "pushed" Biscaro's arms away as Ferguson gasped for air, taking short breaths and showing "round" eyes, the affidavit said. Ferguson said Biscaro twice threatened to kill him during the attack. The affidavit doesn't specify whether Dickson or Brown heard the threats. In his arrest report, Biscaro defended his actions, saying he put his hands on Ferguson's neck to keep him from spitting on him. Biscaro said he punched the handcuffed man in the back out of a fear the suspect might be able to reach a knife in the officer's pants. Ferguson suffered "abrasions, lacerations and contusions," along the spine, left shoulder blade, elbows and neck, the report said. Biscaro is on paid administrative leave. |
Suspect shot, killed by officers near Rancho Cordova Safeway
http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-sacramento/officerinvolved-shooting-under-investigation-in-rancho-cordova/37786284#.VrGDZqOdUY8.facebook Officials said the suspect threatened to kill himself with the knife. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said the officers told the suspect to drop the knife, but the suspect refused. The officers then used a Taser on the suspect twice -- but he still refused to drop the knife. The officers, fearing for their lives, shot the suspect, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said. |
Bayonne cop 'whacked' handcuffed man's face, knocked out 6 teeth, U.S. Attorney says
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/02/post_806.html?hootPostID=4e6ef128f61855a41755c82bd c41e260 The Bayonne police officer who pleaded guilty to hitting a handcuffed man in the face with a flashlight struck the prisoner so hard that he knocked out six teeth, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said on Saturday. In a 10-minute speech in front of roughly 85 people at a community policing forum in Jersey City, Fishman cited the prosecution of the officer, Domenico Lillo, as one way federal law enforcement is working to improve community/police relations in the state. In doing so, Fishman confirmed a detail mentioned in an ongoing lawsuit against the officer. "My office just prosecuted a few months ago a cop named (Domenico) Lillo who's from Bayonne, just down Kennedy Boulevard, who had a prisoner who was handcuffed, not resisting, and whacked him in the face with a flashlight, knocking out six teeth," Fishman said. Previously, federal authorities described what Lillo did in tamer terms, saying he struck the man "in the head with a flashlight while the individual was handcuffed and not resisting arrest, which resulted in bodily injury." According to a lawsuit filed against Lillo before he was charged federally, Lillo struck Bayonne resident Brandon Walsh so hard that Walsh experienced "permanent injury and disfigurement," including losing almost all of his front teeth. In response to the lawsuit, Lillo's attorney said his client only admitted to using excessive force to the degree to which he pleaded guilty to in the criminal case. "Admitted only that Mr. Lillo's one-time contacting of Brandon Walsh with the flashlight constituted excessive force to the extent it is coextensive with the guilty plea entered in the parallel criminal matter," Lillo's attorney, Roshan D. Shah, wrote. Attorneys in the police brutality lawsuit, which was filed by the Walsh family against Lillo and two other city police officers, are arguing over whether the case should be put on pause in light of Lillo pleading guilty to federal charges. The suit claims city officers James Wade and Francis Styles "stood by and did nothing" while Lillo struck Walsh, an allegation that Wade and Styles have both denied. An attorney representing the city of Bayonne and the Bayonne Police Department has said Lillo's recent guilty plea "begs the question" of whether Wade and Styles are under criminal investigation by federal authorities, and whether Lillo is cooperating with authorities as part of his guilty plea. As such, the attorney said, the defendants are requesting holding off on the discovery phase until "the resolution of all ongoing or pending criminal investigations." In an unrelated case, Lillo also pleaded guilty in September to illegally obtaining a $20,000 loan intended for low- to moderate-income residents. His wife, Rose Lillo, was also charged and is negotiating a plea agreement, according to court documents. |
Woman with Asperger’s who touched millions with viral video shot dead by police in Arizona
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-asperger-shot-dead-police-article-1.2520902 A woman with Asperger’s who posted a touching viral video with her service dog last summer has been shot dead by police. Danielle Jacobs was killed by Mesa, Arizona, officers on Thursday after they arrived at her apartment for a suicide call around 11 a.m., her mother Stacia confirmed to the Daily News. Police told local media that the 24-year-old came at them with a knife and they fired in self-defense. |
SAPD chief: Man shot by San Antonio police was unarmed
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/SAPD-North-Side-man-shot-by-police-was-unarmed-6809669.php San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said that a 11-year veteran of the department who fatally shot a man Thursday evening on the North Side believed the victim was holding a gun when he pulled the trigger. McManus, however, confirmed Friday morning that the object in the suspect's hand was actually a cellphone. The shooting happened around 6:30 p.m. in a parking lot of an apartment complex near Isom Road. Officials said the officer pulled up to the man, identified as 36-year-old Antronie Scott, as he was exiting his vehicle. The officer approached and told Scott to "let me see your hands" and almost immediately fired his service weapon, according to McManus. |
Officer-Involved Shooting in Northeast Austin
http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2016-02-08/officer-involved-shooting-in-northeast-austin/ An 18-year-old black man was shot and killed by an Austin Police officer this morning in Northeast Austin, shortly after 10:30am. The 18-year-old, who has not yet been identified by police, was shot by a 10-year veteran of APD who was immediately placed on administrative leave, as is customary with officer involved shootings. A spokesperson for the department declined to identify the officer. According to APD Chief of Staff Brian Manley, who held a press conference shortly after the shooting, police were called to the 12000 block of Nature’s Bend in Northeast Austin – just south of Parmer Lane – at 9:57am after receiving a number of calls about a “suspicious man” acting “erratically” around the neighborhood. Police reported that the 18-year-old was naked when they found him in the neighborhood. He was issued directives from responding officers but did not to follow them. Manley said the 18-year-old began charging at the officer, at which point the officer fired his gun. Austin-Travis County medics responded to the scene at 10:26am and took the body to St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center, where he died. Department Public Information Officials have not commented on whether the 18-year-old was armed when he was shot, but his lack of clothing suggests that any potential weapon he possessed would have been held in one of his hands and in full sight. Police said dashboard camera footage from APD vehicles captured video of some of the incident but did not catch the shooting – although it did pick up audio, Manley said, of the officer ordering the 18-year-old to stay back. Police did not comment on whether or not the 18-year-old was captured on the dashboard camera footage at any point, and did not say whether APD found a gun that didn’t belong to the department anywhere in the vicinity. |
Follow up
Quote:
Austin police: Teen shot by officer identified as David Joseph, 17 ***Unarmed naked child*** |
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A different type of abuse
'Street files' raise question: Did Chicago police hide evidence?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-police-street-files-met-20160212-story.html The homicide files sat untouched for years in the dingy basement at a South Side police station, thousands of aging manila folders locked away in cabinets cataloging seven decades of long-forgotten killings. Stuffed with manually typed police reports, scribbled detectives' notes, faded lineup cards and other evidence, the so-called "street files" might never have seen the light of day. But now about 500 of the files — located in 23 cabinets — have landed at the center of a court fight over whether the Chicago Police Department for years violated its own directives by hiding evidence from criminal defense lawyers. |
Pa. trooper charged in brutality case
http://abc27.com/2016/02/12/pa-trooper-charged-in-brutality-case/ A state police trooper has been charged in the beating of a Harrisburg man last year. A criminal complaint filed Friday charges Trooper Ryan Luckenbaugh with two misdemeanor counts of official oppression, a misdemeanor count of simple assault, and a summary harassment count. man-pressing-charges Luckenbaugh, 36, of Mechanicsburg, is accused of kicking Chris Siennick in the face while Siennick was seated on the ground and handcuffed behind his back, according to the charging documents filed by the Internal Affairs Division of the Pennsylvania State Police. He also subjected Siennick to arrest, detention, search, seizure, or mistreatment based on false allegations and facts, the criminal complaint states. As ABC 27 first reported last year, Siennick was riding his skateboard near Second and Locust Streets on May 16 when he says Luckenbaugh and Trooper Michael Trotta called him a gay slur from their police vehicle. Siennick admits making an obscene hand gesture to the officers. He says they circled the block, got out of their car and chased him. Siennick says they hit him with a baton and twice hit him with a Taser. After he fell to the ground, Siennick says they punched and kicked him. Siennick was arrested on numerous charges and spent three weeks in jail with a high bail. After reviewing videotape of the incident, the Dauphin County district attorney’s office decided to drop all charges against Siennick and recommended Internal Affairs investigate the actions of Trotta and Luckenbaugh. According to the arrest papers, the complaint filed by Luckenbaugh claimed that Siennick failed to obey verbal commands to move from the roadway, displayed an obscene gesture, and struck the police vehicle “with either his person or an unidentified object” when the troopers first encountered him. The troopers did not stop, nor did they attempt to take Siennick into custody, but drove past him a second time. Luckenbaugh wrote that Siennick spit on the police car as they passed, but again the troopers did not stop. The police car’s camera did not record the second encounter, nor did it capture the sound of anything striking the vehicle. The troopers are heard talking about Siennick being in the roadway and giving a middle finger, but they made no comments about anything hitting the car, the complaint against Luckenbaugh states. After Siennick was Tasered, pepper sprayed, and handcuffed, the camera shows he was acting belligerent and yelling loud profanities. A spitting sound is heard, and Luckenbaugh delivered a kick and said, “spit on that.” Harrisburg city police officers who were on the scene said the kick struck Siennick in the face, and they did not believe it was reasonable or justified, according to the complaint. Luckenbaugh also claimed in his paperwork that Siennick had a heavy odor of suspected alcohol, but one Harrisburg police officer told investigators he didn’t smell anything and another didn’t believe Siennick was intoxicated. Luckenbaugh’s complaint further alleged that Siennick refused a breath test, but investigators said at no point in the police car video and audio did anyone offer Siennick a test, and city police officers didn’t recall anyone requesting one. Luckenbaugh, a trooper since 2006, has been suspended without pay. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22. The case is being prosecuted by the Dauphin County district attorney’s office. Siennick has filed a federal lawsuit naming both troopers. Trotta was fired last year. A state police spokeswoman said his termination was due to an “internal matter.” |
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