See: Hurricane "New Orleans Police Department!"
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"[T]he only good n[igger] is a dead n[igger] and they should hang you in the town square to prevent any other n[igger] from coming in the area."
-- July 18, 2011 Statement by Oakland Public Schools Police Chief Pete Sarna, referring to an African-American police officer.
Top News Story!
San Jose Police
Shots Fired!
Shots Fired!
Posted: 03/05/2012 12:46:27 PM PST - Updated: 03/05/2012 04:47:38 PM PST
San Jose, CA -- A grassroots group has fired off a letter to South Bay leaders looking for answers into the fatal San Jose police shooting of a man in his bedroom. The Coalition for Justice and Accountability, in the March 2 letter, urges Mayor Chuck Reed to make sure there is no "unnecessary delay in a thorough investigation" into the Dec. 15 [2011] death of Valente Galindo. The letter from the coalition says there are a number of unanswered questions regarding Galindo's death:
"What is the truth about the circumstances that led to his death? Were his civil rights violated? Did the officers involved in the incident follow proper procedures and the letter of the law in their use of force against Mr. Galindo?"
There are two opposing narratives leading up in the fatal shooting of Galindo, a 47-year-old laid-off custodian who was the fourth person killed by San Jose police in 2011.
Police say that when officers rushed into his home on Inman Way, they were frantically hunting another armed suspect who had tossed a gun into Galindo's bedroom. According to police, Galindo picked up that gun, pointed it at police and refused to drop it. Police said that officer Lee Tassio acted in self-defense. But Galindo's girlfriend, Cynthia Barragan, said she never saw her boyfriend, "Val," with a gun, according to a previous interview with media sources. In fact, her boyfriend had been giving her a massage, she had said, just before he was killed.
An attorney with the Asian Law Alliance who is also a coalition member, said past investigations into fatal police shootings have taken up to a year to complete. "This is not reasonable," the attorney said. The shooting marked the eighth time in 2011 that San Jose police fired their weapons at a suspect. Four of the suspects died.
Family friend Charles Lostaunau said the Galindo family has solicited the assistance of a law firm and intends to sue.
All Units, Be Advised:
'A Good One Enroute!'
'A Good One Enroute!'
Posted: Thursday, September 22, 2011
"I'd like to address the MacPhail family. Let you know, despite the situation you are in, I'm not the one who personally killed your son, your father, your brother. I am innocent."
-- Troy Anthony Davis in his final statement on September 21, 2011, moments before his execution.
"He's been telling himself that for 22 years. You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything."
-- Anneliese MacPhail, Officer Mark Allen MacPhail’s mother.
"I will grieve for the Davis family because now they're going to understand our pain and our hurt. My prayers go out to them. I have been praying for them all these years. And I pray there will be some peace along the way for them."
-- Joan MacPhail-Harris, Officer Mark Allen MacPhail’s widow.
Posted: Tuesday, September 20, 2011
“He’s guilty! We need to go ahead and execute him.”
-- Joan MacPhail-Harris, Officer MacPhail’s widow.
“A future was taken from me. The death penalty is the correct form of justice. … Troy Davis murdered my father, no questions asked."
-- Madison MacPhail, 23-year-old daughter of Officer MacPhail, who was a toddler when her father was killed.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday said it had considered all the information in Troy Anthony Davis' case and carefully considered it before denying the condemned inmate clemency. Davis (pictured left) is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson. He has already declined to make a request for a special last meal. Davis' case has already taken more unexpected turns than just about any death-penalty case in Georgia history and his innocence claims have attracted international attention. Savannah Police officer Mark Allen MacPhail, a 27-year-old former Army Ranger, was moonlighting on a security detail when he ran to help a homeless man, who had cried out because he was being pistol whipped. MacPhail was shot three times before he could draw his handgun. Davis, 42, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of the off-duty Officer.
“He’s guilty,” MacPhail’s widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, said. “We need to go ahead and execute him.”
"What a travesty it would be if they don't uphold the death sentence, MacPhail-Harris said on Monday after the meeting with the board. "It's time for justice today. My family needs justice. He was taken from us too soon, too early.”
As for the case presented by Davis' legal team that Davis was wrongly convicted, she said, "It's been a lie."
MacPhail-Harris was flanked by her 23-year-old daughter, Madison MacPhail, and 22-year-old son, Mark MacPhail Jr., who were a toddler and an infant when their father was killed.
“A future was taken from me,” said Madison MacPhail, unable to hold back tears. “The death penalty is the correct form of justice. … Troy Davis murdered my father, no questions asked."
For the simplest picture of why that decision was so wrong — as so many of Davis' myriad supporters have pleaded for years — just look at the numbers.
— 7: that's how many of the nine original eyewitnesses have recanted their testimony against Davis.
— 0: the amount of physical evidence linking Davis to the crime (no fingerprints, no DNA, no weapon recovered).
— 3: the number of jurors who voted for death in the original trial who now believe their vote was a mistake.
Antioch Police:
Drug Dealers & Killers!
Drug Dealers & Killers!
Posted: 03/29/2011 10:52:14 PM PDT
Updated: 03/30/2011 05:02:30 PM PDT
The family of a 29-year-old Antioch man killed during a Central Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement bust three years ago has appealed a justifiable killing ruling, the latest development in the law enforcement scandal involving former CNET task force commander Norman Wielsch. The appeal to the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by the family of Timothy Wayne Mitchell Jr. alleges that other officers involved with the CNET task force will soon be charged with felonies. Wielsch was one of five defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Mitchell's family after he was fatally shot by Pittsburg police officer Les Galer on March 11, 2008, during a drug bust at Mitchell's apartment. San Francisco U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled in January that Galer had "an objectionably reasonable fear of death" and "committed a justifiable act of homicide."
But in filing the appeal, attorneys for Mitchell's family said Wielsch "offered sworn testimony in support" of the officers and that "his credibility is badly damaged."
In addition, the lawyers wrote in the motion that the Mitchell family "is informed and believes that other [CNET] agents will soon be charged with felonies, too."
Wielsch was arrested along with private investigator Christopher Butler on drug and weapons charges Feb. 16, a development that has caused attorneys to review many past cases involving the CNET task force. Wielsch and Butler have been linked to other schemes, including a staged fake arrest of a teenager in Pleasant Hill and a scheme to lure targets into drunk driving arrests.
Stephen Tanabe, a former Danville police officer, was arrested March 4 in connection with the so-called "Dirty DUI" scheme.
Unarmed!
March 28, 2011
Inmate Death!
DUBLIN -- Martin Harrison, a 50-year-old Oakland man died after a fatal encounter with Alameda County sheriff's deputies at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin August 16, 2010. All we have is the official Sheriff's Department account of the tragic death. Harrison collapsed and later died on Aug. 18, 2010, two days after sheriff's deputies used a Taser on him multiple times in the jail's minimum security area. Harrison was arrested in May for DUI, but had failed to show up for his May 24, 2010 court hearing. The judge issued a warrant for Harrison's arrest. Oakland police officers transported Harrison to Santa Rita on Aug. 13, 2010. Harrison was scheduled back in court Aug. 17, 2010.Two of the deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave. The Sheriff's Department claims to be undertaking an "impartial" investigation.
Posted: 08/17/2010 06:22:29 PM PDT
Updated: 08/18/2010 06:03:54 AM PDT
A 50-year-old Santa Rita Jail inmate is in critical condition after collapsing following a fight (which resulted in a severe beating) Monday night [by] Alameda County Sheriff's deputies, authorities said. About 7 p.m., a deputy went to find out why inmate Martin Harrison had broken a food tray and flooded his isolated cell in the jail's minimum security area of the jail, said Sgt. J.D. Nelson, Sheriff's spokesman. Nelson said the deputy found Harrison hiding behind a mattress, and he said someone was trying to shoot him. Nelson said after the deputy calmed Harrison down, Harrison agreed to be handcuffed and moved while his cell was cleaned and repaired. As the deputy tried to handcuff him, Harrison broke free and charged the officer. The deputy used a Taser to stop him, but Harrison got up and charged the deputy again, Nelson said. The two fell and then fought on the ground. Other deputies came to assist and a Taser was deployed again.
Per department policy on Taser incidents, after Harrison was subdued he was seen by the jail nursing staff , Nelson said. He was then taken to the jail's medical clinic for an evaluation. It was there Harrison became unresponsive. He was rushed to a hospital where he is in critical condition, Nelson said.
Harrison was arrested Aug. 13 in Oakland on an arrest warrant for driving under the influence, Nelson said. Sheriff's detectives are investigating the incident, Nelson said.
Killers in Blue!
July 13, 2010
"Put simply, we will not tolerate wrongdoing by those who are sworn to protect the public."
-- Attorney General Eric Holder
NEW ORLEANS – Four more New Orleans police officers have been charged in the deadly shootings of two people in Hurricane Katrina's chaotic aftermath and could face the most serious punishment yet — the death penalty — for the killings that have brought down a string of other officers. Six current or former officers are charged in a 27-count indictment unsealed Tuesday. Five former New Orleans police officers already have pleaded guilty to helping cover up the shootings on the Danziger Bridge that left two men dead and four wounded just days after the August 2005 hurricane. In one instance, a mentally disabled man was shot in the back and stomped before he died.The indictment charges Sgts. Robert Gisevius and Kenneth Bowen, officer Anthony Villavaso and former officer Robert Faulcon with deprivation of rights under color of law and use of a weapon during the commission of a crime. They could face the death penalty if convicted, though U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said prosecutors haven't decided whether to seek that punishment. Sgt. Arthur Kaufman and retired Sgt. Gerard Dugue, who helped investigate the shootings, were charged with participating in a cover-up to make it appear the shootings were justified. Charges against them include obstruction of justice. The case is one of several probes of alleged misconduct by New Orleans police officers that the Justice Department opened after the August 2005 storm. Last month, five current or former officers were charged in the shooting death of 31-year-old Henry Glover, whose burned body turned up after Katrina.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department is working with city officials to restore residents' trust in the police department. "Put simply, we will not tolerate wrongdoing by those who are sworn to protect the public," Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday in New Orleans. A lawyer for Gisevius, said the indictment wasn't a surprise. "We have long anticipated that this day may come," he said. "We're certainly ready to begin the process of defending him against these allegations."
Faulcon, who resigned from the department shortly after the storm, was arrested at his home in Houston on Tuesday. Gisevius, Bowen and Villavaso surrendered at FBI headquarters in New Orleans. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said prosecutors will ask for all four of them to be detained. Some of the defense attorneys bristled at the arrest of Faulcon. "They really didn't have to do that," said a lawyer for Bowen. "Nobody is going anywhere. We've never thought about doing anything other than face these charges." Kaufman and Dugue weren't arrested. A date for the six men's initial court appearances wasn't immediately set.
The indictment claims Faulcon shot 40-year-old Lance Madison, who had severe mential disabilities, in the back as he ran away on the west side of the bridge. Bowen is charged with stomping and kicking Madison while he was lying on the ground, wounded but still alive. His brother, Lance Madison, was arrested and charged with trying to kill police officers. He was jailed for three weeks and released without being indicted. Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon and Villavaso also are accused of shoooting at an unarmed family on the east side of the bridge, killing 17-year-old James Brissette and wounding four others. All six officers are charged with participating in a cover-up. In court filings, police are accused of fabricating nonexistent witnesses, plotting to plant a gun to make it seem as if the shootings were justified and kicking spent shell casings off the bridge weeks after the shootings. "This indictment is a continuing reminder that the constitution and the rule of law do not take a holiday, even after a hurricane," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division. Dugue retired from the force earlier this year. Kaufman has been on paid sick leave.
A Fishy Story!
July 12, 2010
A man has died nearly a week after he was shot by a police officer in El Cajon near San Diego. El Cajon police Lt. Mark Coit says 56-year-old Moses Jovid Muhammad died at a San Diego area hospital Thursday after suffering gunshot wounds to his upper body and legs. Authorities say Officer Nick Sprecco was responding to calls that Muhammad allegedly was wielding a knife and threatening people outside a fast-food restaurant Friday. Police say Muhammad allegedly came after Sprecco with a hunting knife. Sprecco is the son of El Cajon Police Chief Pat Sprecco. The San Diego County district attorney's office is investigating.Plot to Kill!
March 29, 2010
(This combo of eight photos provided by the U.S. Marshals Service on Monday March 29, 2010 shows from top left, David Brian Stone Sr., 44, of Clayton, Mich,; David Brian Stone Jr. of Adrian, Mich,; Jacob Ward, 33, of Huron, Ohio; Tina Mae Stone and bottom row from left, Michael David Meeks, 40, of Manchester, Mich,; Kristopher T. Sickles, 27, of Sandusky, Ohio; Joshua John Clough, 28, of Blissfield, Mich.; and Thomas William Piatek, 46, of Whiting, Ind.,.) WASHINGTON — Nine members tied to a Midwest Christian militia were preparing for the Antichrist by conspiring to kill police officers, then attack a funeral using homemade bombs in the hopes of killing more law enforcement personnel. The Michigan-based group, called Hutaree, planned to use the attack on police as a catalyst for a larger uprising against the government. The idea of attacking a police funeral was one of numerous scenarios discussed as ways to go after law enforcement officers. Other scenarios included a fake 911 call to lure an officer to his or her death, or an attack on the family of a police officer. Once other officers gathered for a slain officer's funeral, the group planned to detonate homemade bombs at the funeral, killing more. After such attacks, the group allegedly planned to retreat to "rally points" protected by trip-wired improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, for what they expected would become a violent standoff with law enforcement personnel.
Reaping What You Sow!
One Cop Dead, One Dying!
February 25, 2010
A sheriff's detective was killed and a Reedley police officer critically wounded in a shooting Thursday morning in rural Fresno County. Authorities say a man who was being served a warrant after several arson fires opened fire with a rifle in the tiny town of Minkler. A sheriff's deputy was wounded by shrapnel. A man believed to be the shooter was found dead about 5 p.m. in a home that had been surrounded by law-enforcement officers. Sheriff Margaret Mims said at a news conference this afternoon she did not know if the man shot himself or died during the exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers.Property records, neighbors and one local official said the arson and shooting suspect was Ricky Liles, 51, of Minkler. The sheriff said the suspect’s identity hadn’t been confirmed. Liles was living at the mobile home with his wife, identified only as Diane. It is not known if she was the woman who surrendered to officers Thursday afternoon. An investigation into the shooting will continue for several days, and all questions will be referred to the Fresno Police Department, which has taken over the investigation of the deputy's killing, Mims said. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said he would not release the names of the two deputies who were shot, or the names of the man and woman who had been inside the mobile home.
About 20 investigators are at the mobile home, collecting evidence. The man's body also remains in the mobile home for now, Dyer said. The investigation will take several days because hundreds of rounds were fired during the incident, he said.
Dyer said officials believe the man was already dead when the woman left the mobile home.
~In Memoriam~
• Maurice Clemmons
On December 1, 2009, Maurice Clemmons (pictured left) was shot and killed in South Seattle by a Seattle police officer making a routine check of a stolen car. The officer who killed Clemmons, Benjamin L. Kelly, 39, who joined the department 4 ½ years ago. Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar arrived at the scene a few hours after the shooting to express relief and appreciation for the work that has been done by law enforcement agencies throughout the area since Sunday's shooting. "I just want to thank all my brothers and sisters in law enforcement," he said. "I just can't say enough about what they've done in the last few days." • Lovelle Mixon
Alameda County Deputy Sheriff Derek Pope was saluted for Killing Lovelle Mixon on March 21, 2009. Pope and other Oakland Police SWAT members (Pat Gonzales) killed Mixon. On 3/19/10, Deputy Pope stated: "It's an honor and privilege [...]"
• Angilo Freeland
"That's all the bullets we had, or we would have shot him more!"
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd (pictured below, left) to reporters.
On September 29, 2006, Nine (of ten) officers fired 110 shots at Angilo Freeland and hit him with 68 of those bullets. The nine officers involved included two Polk County deputies, a Lakeland police officer, a Marion County deputy, a Lake County deputy, and four Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers. Investigators could not say how many shots hit the dead man. "But you can imagine," the sheriff said. In response to the Florida Civil Rights Association's complaint that the police had shown disregard for human life when they shot Angilo Freeland after an all-night manhunt, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the FBI to look into the matter. In November 2006, the latter agency announced it would investigate whether authorities used excessive force in the incident. In June 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced it had cleared the Polk County Sheriff's Office of any wrongdoing in the incident, stating: "After careful consideration, we concluded that the evidence does not establish a prosecutable violation of the federal civil rights statutes. Accordingly, we have closed our investigation."Reaping What You Sow!
March 22, 2010
Police Officer Robert Salerno, assigned to the 44th Precinct here in the Bronx was shot after he responded to a 911 call. “Officer Salerno is in stable condition and I would like to personally thank the doctors and staff here at Lincoln for their expert work today. His injuries are believed to be not to be life threatening. He is 25 years old and has been a Police Officer for three years. He suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen, including one that was blocked by his bullet resistant vest, possibly saving his life. “The shooting took place just after noon at a NYCHA development called the Morrisania Air Rights located at 3073 Park Avenue. Officer Salerno was one of a number of patrol officers who responded to a 911 call concerning a dispute at that address. There was a confrontation in which shots were fired. Officer Salerno was wounded and the suspected shooter, Santiago Urena, died.A massive NYPD response is on the scene, including ESU, K9, Highway Division, and other special units, and have the building surrounded.
March 21, 2010
Baltimore police say two officers have been shot during a traffic stop and they are in serious but stable condition. The suspected shooter was killed by return fire. Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says the shooting happened about 12:21 p.m. Sunday. The officers had pulled over the suspected shooter for an unknown traffic offense. When the officers approached the car, the suspect pulled out a gun and shot one officer in the face and the other in the arm. Police were able to return fire and the suspect died from his wounds. The names of the officers and the suspect were not immediately released.Inglewood Police!
March 23, 2010
The City of Inglewood decided to pay $2.45 million to settle claims in connection to the shooting of several unarmed [black] men shot at by police. The claims to be settled include a payout to the family of Michael Byoune, a 19-year-old black man, who was shot and killed by Inglewood police May 11, 2008 in the 3000 block of Manchester Boulevard. Racist police officers claimed they mistakenly believed gunfire was coming from the vehicle the three were riding in, according to a tentative settlement. Michael Byoune died from his wounds, and driver Larry White and passenger Chris Larkin were injured in the shooting by Inglewood officers on May 11, 2008 (Mother's Day) outside a Rally's restaurant. Jacqueline Seabrooks, chief of the 190-member police department, described the incident at the time as "a very tragic outcome."Carl Douglas, an attorney representing the victims and their families, said he was pleased by the settlement, adding that it brought "some measure of justice" to the victims. "Three young men who had done absolutely nothing wrong had their lives changed forever," he said. "No amount of money will ever bring back Michael Byoune to his family, but hopefully, through his death, the city will make changes that will help all of the citizens of our community," Douglas said. "For that reason, his death will not be in vain." Inglewood spokesman Ed Maddox confirmed the tentative settlement "pending the completion of final documents."
Blue Murder!
L.A.P.D. Chief!
March 5, 2011
Shooting Justified!
A Los Angeles police officer shot and killed Steven Washington, a 27-year-old black man on March 20, 2010. Washington, who was autistic, died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Washington, who was not armed, was shot while walking in the 800 block of South Vermont Avenue in Koreatown. After a lengthy internal investigation, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck recommended that the civilian commission that oversees his department rule the shooting justified. The commission disagreed. [The media] obtained a redacted version of Beck's report. An excerpt of his story begins below. What do you think of the opposing conclusions drawn by the commission and the chief?
— Redacted
The civilian commission that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department has taken the rare step of rejecting a recommendation from the department's chief, ruling that two police officers were wrong when they fatally shot an unarmed autistic man last year. Police Chief Charlie Beck concluded after a lengthy internal investigation that the officers made serious tactical mistakes during the brief, late-night encounter, but ultimately were justified in using deadly force against Steven Eugene Washington, 27. The media obtained a redacted version of the report, which conceals the officers' names. Because of the redactions it is not possible to tell what role each officer played in the shooting.
About midnight on March 20, Officers Allan Corrales and George Diego, who worked in an anti-gang unit, were driving in a marked patrol car along Vermont Avenue in the city's Koreatown neighborhood. Both officers told investigators they heard a loud noise — one described it as a "deep boom" — behind them, according to Beck's report on the incident.
Looking behind them, the officers saw Washington walking on the sidewalk in the opposite direction. They turned the car around and drove slowly behind him. The officer in the passenger seat rolled down his window and called out to the man, the report said. The officer told investigators Washington turned toward him, gave him a "hard" look, then reached into the waistband area of his pants, according to the report.
The officer who was driving pulled up alongside Washington. From a few feet away, his partner saw a dark object tucked into Washington's waistband and, convinced it was a gun, drew his own weapon and pointed it at the man, according to the report.
Washington, according to the officers' account in the report, turned abruptly and began to walk directly toward the patrol car as the driving officer brought the car to a stop. The officer in the passenger seat told investigators Washington had a "blank stare" as if in a daze and ignored orders to raise his hands. From the car, the officer fired a single shot, then ducked down below the window. The shot struck Washington in the head. Washington had no weapon.
Developmentally Disabled Man Killed!
March 21, 2010
Los Angeles Police officers shot and killed a man in Koreatown early Saturday morning after he reached into his waistband for what officers believed was a weapon, authorities said. Steven Eugene Washington (pictured below, left) 27, died from a single gunshot wound to the head shortly after midnight.
Although no weapon was found, officers said they feared for their lives because Washington did not respond to their commands and appeared to be reaching for his waistband.
Hours after the shooting, Washington's relatives criticized police and said the dead man had suffered from learning disabilities and was generally afraid of strangers. They insisted that he was not violent and that he probably was walking home after visiting a friend.
Police identified the gang enforcement officers involved as Allan Corrales and George Diego, (Southern Mexican Gang Members) who have served nearly seven and eight years with the department, respectively. Both have been reassigned until the probe is completed, police said.
Corrales and Diego were driving south on Vermont Avenue near James M. Wood Boulevard shortly after midnight in a marked police car when they heard a loud sound, according to police. They turned the car around and saw Washington walking north on Vermont while looking around and touching something in his waistband area. The officers spoke to Washington, but he approached them and seemed to remove something from his waistband, police said. Corrales and Diego believed "he was arming himself" and fired, Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger ("Uncle Tom" pictured left) said at an afternoon news conference. "The officers made decisions in a fraction of a second," he added. It appears the officers fired once each, Paysinger said. It's unclear which bullet struck Washington.Washington's family said he was autistic and had learning disabilities but enjoyed riding the bus and trains. He was taking classes at a community college and wanted to become a mechanic. He often took the Metro Red Line subway to visit friends and was probably walking to his home a few blocks to the south, his family said.
Washington was generally wary around strangers and sometimes shy even around family members.
"That's what we lost today: a kid," said his aunt, Vickie Thompson.
Downey P.D.!
March 21, 2010
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating two recent deaths in which Downey police officers were involved. 31-year-old Albert Valencia died after Downey police used a Taser to subdue him after a foot chase. Officers were called to an LA Fitness health club at Firestone Boulevard and Ryerson Avenue about 9 a.m. Friday after patrons reported that a man was acting strangely and threatening people inside the gym, according to a statement from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.Upon arrival, officers attempted to stop Valencia, who was driving his car out of the parking lot. The officers reported that they saw Valencia brandish a knife as they approached him, the statement said.
Valencia stopped his vehicle at Almira and Blumont roads in South Gate and fled into a yard, where officers became involved in a "physical altercation" with him and used a Taser, according to the statement.
Shortly afterward, Valencia became unresponsive, and officers performed CPR until the fire department arrived. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
One day prior to this killing, Downey Police shot and killed an unknown man.
50 Shots - NYPD!
February 17, 2010
Three New York police officers who killed an unarmed man, Sean Bell, in a 50-shot barrage outside a seedy strip club hours before his wedding will not face civil rights charges, federal authorities said.
“After a careful and thorough review, a team of experienced federal prosecutors and FBI agents determined that the evidence was insufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the law enforcement personnel who fired at Bell (and two friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield) acted willfully,” the Justice Department said in statement. “Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed.”
An attorney for one of the New York Police Department officers called it “the right decision.”
Bell (pictured left) a 23-year-old black man, was killed and his friends were seriously injured outside Kalua Cabaret in Queens in 2006 as they were leaving his bachelor party by car. The officers, all undercover detectives, had been investigating reports of prostitution at the club. No weapon was found in Bell’s blood-splattered, bullet-riddled car. The shooting sparked community outrage and accusations that the New York Police Department was too quick to use excessive force against minorities.At a non-jury trial in 2008, prosecutors portrayed the officers as trigger-happy cowboys. They accused one of the shooters, undercover detective Michael Oliver, of firing 31 of the 50 total shots — even pausing to reload.
A judge ended up acquitting the three shooters of state charges that included manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment. The Justice Department said afterward it would review the incident, though a civil rights case was always considered a long shot.
"Lie Down With Dogs,
You Wake up with Fleas!"
You Wake up with Fleas!"
May 31, 2009
The shooting death of black Officer Omar Edwards (pictured left) an NYPD officer who was gunned down by one of his own white colleagues, highlights previous arguments of racism in police shootings. Officer Edwards was shot and killed while in plainclothes, his gun drawn as he chased a man suspected of breaking in his car. Officer Andrew Dunton (a white officer) and other cops saw the chase and intervened. Witnesses said they heard gun fire, then moments later the officers saying "We just shot a cop."Officers Edwards and Dunton has been 15 feet apart when Dunton fired, and Officer Edwards was hit in the left arm, in the chest and the fatal shot to the back, which pierced his lung and heart. Officer Edwards was a newlywed who leaves behind a wife and two young children.
Officer Edwards' father, Ricardo, said something must be done so what happened to his son never happens again.
"If they can do that to their own people, who can they protect?" Ricardo Edwards said. "They are here to protect me, protect you, but if they can't protect their own people, who they gonna protect?"
New Jersey State Troopers!
January 14, 2002
Four years after they shot three unarmed men during a traffic stop on the New Jersey Turnpike, two New Jersey troopers were allowed to plead guilty to reduced charges today and were spared both jail time and probation. A New Jersey appeals court reinstated the criminal charges against the two troopers, overruling a lower-court judge who had dismissed the charges. Mr. Kenna was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault and Mr. Hogan with aggravated assault. The criminal charges in the shooting came to an end, and the Justice Department agreed not to prosecute the troopers, John Hogan, 32, and James Kenna, 31, on federal charges, even civil rights leaders conceded that since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the practice has become even more pervasive.The two men who began the furor by firing 11 shots into a van carrying black and Latino men from the Bronx on April 23, 1998, publicly acknowledged on January 14, 2002, for the first time that they had stopped the vehicle because its occupants were black and Latino. The troopers said their supervisors had trained them to focus on black- and brown-skinned drivers because, they were told, they were more likely to be drug traffickers. The four men were basketball players on their way to professional tryouts in North Carolina.
Prosecutors then asked the judge to spare the troopers probation, noting that both men had been carrying out the policies they had been taught. Judge Charles A. Delehey of State Superior Court in Mercer County agreed, noting that both men would lose their jobs and that Trooper Kenna, who had been involved in a shooting in March 1998, had received inadequate counseling before being rushed back into duty.
''You are victims not only of your own actions but of the system which employed you,'' the judge said, issuing each man a penalty of a $280 fine.
Troopers Hogan and Kenna, who are both white, each pleaded guilty to obstructing the investigation by lying about the incident to internal state police investigators in the days after the shooting. They also acknowledged intentionally misrepresenting the race of drivers they had stopped on other occasions, to conceal the fact that they were singling out blacks and Latinos. They had been charged with aggravated assault; Trooper Kenna had also faced a charge of attempted murder. Both men also agreed to resign from the state police.
The Justice Department discovered evidence that blacks and Latinos were being stopped and searched in disproportionately high numbers, and that the attorney general's office had not been forthcoming with its statistics. New Jersey State Legislature hearings led to calls for the impeachment of State Supreme Court Justice Peter G. Verniero, who had been attorney general when the state police were concealing information from the federal inquiry, but the measure was blocked in the State Assembly.
The supervisors responsible for teaching and rewarding profiling had never been punished. The prosecutor, James J. Gerrow Jr., ended the case without taking disciplinary actions against any of the supervisors who tolerated profiling or the other officers who urged the troopers to lie. ''Not one superior officer has been named. Not one superior officer has been removed from employment with the New Jersey State Police.''
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Movie Intermission!
Inside Outlaw Bikers
Hell's Angels Documentary Part 2 of 5 (2003)
Hell's Angels Documentary Part 2 of 5 (2003)
Description: Arizona (2003) Take a wild ride into the realm of this infamous biker gang when a government sting operation creates a bogus motorcycle club to ride along side them. (Runtime: 00:09:57)
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