Deaths and Injuries in Police Custody

[A. Spectre]

The role of police needs to be redefined


For too long there has been this blanket protection for police. We've given them the benefit of the doubt, always saying it's a tough job or it's a thankless job or they are putting their lives on the line for our safety. And this is all true. But it shouldn't be used as an excuse or a shield.

Police offers choose their career. And they should be held to a higher standard. Not shielded with excuses. And if they can't live up to the higher standard, they should go find another profession. It seems in almost all cases where there is excessive force, we find out there were prior complaints. Warning signs, really.

We should hire police officers more selectively. Pay them much more. And hold them accountable. Those that show signs that the job is too much should be dismissed.

It doesn't help that MF45 is stoking the flames of a race war. (he is probably salivating at this prospect) trump wants a reason ANY reason to install martial law. Unfortunately, all of this chaos and fear he creates will benefit him in Nov.

With that said, the looting and vandalism is counter-productive. Now, we have stores that are closed, citizens losing their jobs, innocent people being injured.

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by A. Spectre

The role of police needs to be redefined


For too long there has been this blanket protection for police. We've given them the benefit of the doubt, always saying it's a tough job or it's a thankless job or they are putting their lives on the line for our safety. And this is all true. But it shouldn't be used as an excuse or a shield.

Police offers choose their career. And they should be held to a higher standard. Not shielded with excuses. And if they can't live up to the higher standard, they should go find another profession. It seems in almost all cases where there is excessive force, we find out there were prior complaints. Warning signs, really.

We should hire police officers more selectively. Pay them much more. And hold them accountable. Those that show signs that the job is too much should be dismissed.

It doesn't help that MF45 is stoking the flames of a race war. (he is probably salivating at this prospect) trump wants a reason ANY reason to install martial law. Unfortunately, all of this chaos and fear he creates will benefit him in Nov.

With that said, the looting and vandalism is counter-productive. Now, we have stores that are closed, citizens losing their jobs, innocent people being injured.

Taylor Swift called out T---P for his delusional thinking and race baiting and really put herself on the line today, with her tweet taking T---p to task.


And I quote from the CNN news headlines today:

"After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? When the looting starts the shooting starts'???" the pop icon tweeted. She (Swift) tagged Trump in her tweet, adding: "We will vote you out in November."

And too, Swift addressed the idea of how T---p thinks like a dictator, how he thinks he is G-D, and will rule over everyone and anything, which is exactly where the notion of martial law comes in. And I quote from the same news article:

"I really think that he thinks this is an autocracy," she said.

There are so many horrible hate crimes going down in Amerika each day, but the latest few (to include the Afro-American man from Minnesota, George Floyd) reflects the horrors in everyday Amerika for those who are not white.



Swift CNN article (LINK)

George Floyd on CNN News (LINK)

Thanks for your post, Ace.

[dark_crystal]

My friend posted a photo of her beautiful black sons and said "These are my black sons. God gave them to me and I declare that no weapon formed against them shall prosper! I cancel every assignment of the enemy! I plead the Blood of Jesus over them!They shall live and not die and declare the Works of The Lord in the land of the living! They will be successful and they will prosper! In the Mighty Name of Jesus Amen! I challenge all Mother's of black men to repost this message. Tell the devil that he CANNOT have our men by posting a pic and making your declaration! Our words have power!"

I commented "My privilege is at your family’s service if there’s ever any way it can be a fence against this evil"

She said "you are a sweetheart"

I tapped the heart icon instead of replying, but i wanted to say "I am not a sweetheart. I am a Walpole and a Brewer"

The United Daughters of the Confederacy's Helen Walpole Brewer Library

The Helen Walpole Brewer Library was established in 1996 through a generous bequest of the late Helen Walpole Brewer. It contains microfilm copies of the National Archives Compiled Confederate Service Records and a limited number of regimental histories, family histories, pension records, and cemetery records.

I owe a debt.

By which i mean, if you're a POC reading this, my privilege is at your service, too.

[tantalizingfemme]

"A Decade of Watching Black People Die"

Eric Garner had just broken up a fight, according to witness testimony.

Ezell Ford was walking in his neighborhood.

Michelle Cusseaux was changing the lock on her home's door when police arrived to take her to a mental health facility.

Tanisha Anderson was having a bad mental health episode, and her brother called 911.

Tamir Rice was playing in a park.

Natasha McKenna was having a schizophrenic episode when she was tazed in Fairfax, Va.

Walter Scott was going to an auto-parts store.

Bettie Jones answered the door to let Chicago police officers in to help her upstairs neighbor,who had called 911 in order to resolve a domestic dispute.

Philando Castile was driving home from dinner with his girlfriend.

Botham Jean was eating ice cream in his living room in Dallas, Tx.

Atatiana Jefferson was babysitting her nephew at home in Fort Worth, Tx.

Eric Reason was pulling into a parking spot at a local chicken and fish shop.

Dominique Clayton was sleeping in her bed.

Breona Taylor was also asleep in her bed.

And George Floyd was at the grocery store.

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/29/86526...ack-people-die

[Orema]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The state of Minnesota filed a human rights complaint Tuesday against the Minneapolis Police Department in the death of George Floyd by an officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for minutes, even after he stopped moving.

Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced the filing at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Widely seen bystander video showing Floyd’s death has sparked sometimes violent protests around the world. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers involved were fired but have not been charged.

“We know that deeply seated issues exist,” the governor said. “I know it because we saw the casual nature of the erasing of George Floyd’s life and humanity. We also saw the reaction of the community. They expected nothing to happen, because nothing happened so many times before.”

Walz said the investigation into the police department’s policies, procedures and practices over the past 10 years will determine if the force has engaged in systemic discrimination toward people of color, and work out how to stop it. State Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero will lead the investigation.

Lucero’s department will seek an agreement from Minneapolis city leaders and the police department to immediately implement interim measures, followed by long-term measures to address systemic discrimination.

The FBI is also investigating whether police willfully deprived Floyd of his civil rights.

Spokesmen for the police department and the mayor’s office didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The Minneapolis City Council planned to issue a statement on the investigation later Tuesday.

The department enforces the state’s human rights act, particularly as it applies to discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and public services. Mediation is one of its first-choice tools, but the cases it files can lead to fuller investigations and sometimes end up in litigation.

The Minneapolis Police Department has faced decades of allegations brutality and other discrimination against African Americans and other minorities, even within the department itself. Critics say its culture resists change, despite the elevation of Medaria Arradondo as its first black police chief in 2017.

Arradondo himself was among five black officers who sued the police department in 2007 over alleged discrimination in promotions, pay, and discipline. They said in their lawsuit that the department had a history of tolerating racism and discrimination. The city eventually settled the lawsuit for $740,000.

Earlier Tuesday, an attorney for Floyd’s family again decried the official autopsy that found his death was caused by cardiac arrest as police restrained him and compressed his neck. The medical examiner also listed fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use, but not as the cause of death.

A separate autopsy commissioned for Floyd’s family concluded that that he died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression.

“The cause of death was that he was starving for air. It was lack of oxygen. And so everything else is a red herring to try to throw us off,” family attorney Ben Crump said Tuesday. He said the Hennepin County medical examiner went to great lengths to try to convince the public that what was shown on bystander video didn’t cause Floyd to die.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that prosecutors are working as fast as they can to determine whether more charges will be filed.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/...er-floyd-death

[Orema]

Vallejo police officer shoots, kills 22-year-old on his knees after mistaking hammer for gun, chief says

VALLEJO, Calif. (KGO) -- Vallejo Police shot and killed a 22-year-old following a night of looting early Tuesday morning. Today, Chief Shawny Williams said Sean Monterrosa was on his knees and an officer saw what appeared to be a gun in his sweatshirt. It turned out to be a hammer.


Sean Monterrosa, 22, was shot dead by police in Vallejo, California, early on Tuesday morning. The officer who shot him outside a Walgreens believed he was armed with a gun.

The fatal shooting came after a night of multiple calls for looting including to the Walgreens.

Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams said it appeared Monterrosa was going to get into a getaway vehicle before changing his mind.

"This individual appeared to be running toward the black sedan but suddenly stopped taking a kneeling position and placing his hands above his waist revealing what appeared to be the butt of handgun investigations later revealed that the weapon was a long 15-inch hammer tucked into the pocket of his sweatshirt," said Chief Williams.

Chief Williams says the officer who shot Monterrosa is an 18-year veteran. Chief Williams did not release his name.

Attorney John Burris is representing Monterrosa's family.

"He did not see Mr. Monterrosa put his hands on it in a threatening way. So the question here is what threat if any did he actually present," said Burris.

Of the two getaway vehicles filled with suspected looters that drove off, one rammed a responding police vehicle injuring an officer. Police caught the suspects from one vehicle in Contra Costa County. The suspects in the black sedan got away.

Chief Williams said the department has made many changes since he arrived including to its de-escalation policy.

"How was de-escalation used here," asked ABC7 News I-Team reporter Melanie Woodrow.

"Well I'll say this when they responded to the Walgreens the intent was to stop the looting and to arrest the perpetrators if necessary, the officers reacted to a perceived threat," said Chief Williams.

The department has 45 days to release body-worn camera video but Chief Williams says he plans to do so sooner.

"Based on your experience of 27 years was this excessive force," asked I-TEAM reporter Melanie Woodrow.

"Like I said the District Attorney is going to look at this and our internal affairs will look at it," said Chief Williams as people in the crowd began shouting at Williams who would not answer with his opinion.

The officer who fired the fatal shot has been placed on routine paid administrative leave as have the witness officers.

Source: https://abc7news.com/vallejo-officia...ting-/6229758/

[Cin]

In Pictures: The seven masks of Naomi Osaka

US Open champion wore masks with different names for each of her seven matches to honour Black victims of violence.


https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/in...064504142.html