One of several Los Angeles police officers who chased a stolen car
suspect down a Compton wash path today was captured on live television
trying to kick the man and then hitting him several times with a
flashlight after it appeared he had surrendered. The man in news
footage shot from a helicopter is shown pulling the car into a dead-end
street and then running north on a grassy path along a Compton wash.
After about 30 yards, the man appears to surrender by putting his hands
in the air and dropping to the ground. Then as two officers have him on
the ground, the third officer arrives and is seen apparently trying to
kick the suspect in the head and striking his upper back and neck at
least 11 times with a flashlight. [more] and [more]
6
months ago charges against LAPD officers for beating down handcuffed
teenager, Donovan Jackson (above) were dropped. The incident was video taped. [more]
2
years ago Oklahoma City Police beat Donald Pete more than two dozen
times. The incident was recorded. Charges against the police were
dismissed. [more]
In November the Cincinnati Police beating of Nathaniel Jones was
captured on video tape. NO officers were charged in the beating.
Nathaniel Jones pictured above. [more]
Massachusetts Cops Don't like new study Police chiefs from across the state are expected
to appeal a recent report that says nearly three-quarters of
Massachusetts police departments engage in racial profiling. Northeastern
University researchers studied more than 1.6 million traffic citations
issued between April of 2001 and June of last year. [more]
A civil rights group accuses Austin police
of using excessive force against minorities and abusing their search
powers. A complaint filed by the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People against the Austin Police Department and
the city of Austin with the U.S. Justice Department seeks to block
about $3.2 million that the department receives from the federal
government until it changes the way it uses force against suspects and
trains officers to work with the minority community. [more]
Palo Alto cops had the Right to "use whatever physical force necessary'' to Beat Down an unarmed, 60 yr. old Black Man who was never charged with a crime
Two Palo Alto police officers did not violate department
procedures when they beat and pepper-sprayed a motorist last summer,
according to an internal affairs investigation.The officers said they feared for their safety when Hopkins reached for the console in his car. Hopkins said that he was minding his own business and brutalized by police
because he's African-American.Hopkins
was never charged with a crime in the incident and recently accepted a
$250,000 settlement from the city of Palo Alto after agreeing not to
sue in civil court. [more]
There have been complaints about police following black
children at night with spotlights, shining spotlights in cars and
stopping and questioning black youth for no reason. Residents of
Gordonsville's Baker Street found the words "Racist Cops" painted in
four places on the road at the beginning of June. The Police Chief told
the crowd that blacks should not give law enforcement
officers a reason to stop them by drawing attention to themselves. [more]
About 20 people marched in front of Richmond City
Hall yesterday for the second week in a row, protesting alleged racial
profiling and police brutality. The protests follow an incident shortly
after midnight May 30, in which a black woman, Natasha Miller, was
slammed on the ground by police, according to police and witnesses.
Seven people were arrested, and several were sprayed with pepper spray.
All the officers involved in the incident are white. Miller, 21,
participated in yesterday's protest. [more]
Police departments statewide would be required to
document traffic stops for one year, under a bill the Senate Judiciary
Committee was to consider on Thursday. The so-called racial profiling
legislation follows last year's findings by Northeastern University
researchers that nonwhite drivers in Rhode Island were stopped in
disproportionate numbers compared to whites. [more]
"Help. We have racist cops and demand something be done. You are locking our future up innocently- Will anybody listen."
Mayor Ernest Duncan at a special meeting Thursday outlined a series of
actions town officials will take to address recent accusations that
Gordonsville police are unfairly targeting black residents. [more]
One year ago, violence erupted in Benton Harbor,
Michigan. Angry rioters took to the streets after a police chase led to
the death of an African-American motorcyclist. That evening and again the following night, angry rioters burned down a
total of 21 buildings and set fire to seven others. Ten people were
arrested, dozens of minor injuries were reported, several emergency
vehicles were damaged or destroyed and a Michigan State Police trooper
was fired upon. An investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing. [more] and [more]
by Patricia Fay Fournet. Kermith Sonnier, Jr. was stalked and shot by two white police officers in the state of Pennsylvania.
Apparently it is "Open Season" on citizens as law
enforcement officers are stalking people at gunpoint and then shooting
them as though they are wild game.One must address the mindset of the
individual who is capable of committing such distorted behavior.One
must address the true intent of an agency that practices the violent
shooting of unarmed people as standard operating procedure; referring
to such acts as "clean," or "done according to policy".One must also
address the detrimental effects that are caused by this agency and by a
government that supports and protects its' continued operations of
desecrating basic human rights.Redstone Township Officer H. Dennis
Fields and Brownsville Borough Officer Autumn Fike forced an unarmed
man, namely, Kermith Sonnier, Jr., into a vehicular chase that
led to a wooded area near Brownsville Pennsylvania, where they then
shot him in the back and killed him. He was 37 years old and a native
of Oberlin, Louisiana.
Assistant District Attorney Nancy Vernon said she
saw "no problem", with the incident.Had the incident involved a member
of Ms. Vernon's family, her Mama, perhaps, I imagine her perception of
the event would be quite different.I can tell you that I see a huge
problem in the events that took place on May 5th when my cherished
friend was brutally murdered by Dennis Fields and Autumn Fike. I see a
huge problem in Nancy Vernon's position as Assistant District Attorney
when she condones inhuman acts of murder. I see the need for a public
outcry and insistence that these conditions change immediately. Had
these issues been acted upon when State Trooper Samuel Nassan committed
the cowardly act of killing a 12-year-old child named Michael
Ellerbe, shooting him in the back as he climbed over a fence, perhaps
my dear and brilliant friend would not have been gunned down in cold
blood?
How many more atrocities shall be allowed?
How may I, a Louisiana resident, incite the change
that is so obviously needed? How does a person like Nancy Vernon, who
is so desensitized to the plight of the human condition, land a
position of authority, enabling her social deviance to wreak havoc upon
townspeople?
Why do psychological misfits such as Autumn Fike and
Dennis Fields secure jobs in the field of criminal justice, where,
along with other defective humans, they comprise a collective effort
called law enforcement which has so obviously become the disease and
not the cure. I challenge Ms. Vernon, Ms. Fike, and/or Mr. Fields, to
submit a logical explanation that would justify the murder of my
beloved friend Kermith Sonnier, Jr.! I challenge each citizen to become
appropriately appalled by the ongoing and disgustingly sadistic, human
rights violations committed in this country, against our own brothers
and sisters, by law enforcement officers and sanctioned by governmental
officials who openly display an abnormal and inhuman attitude of
indecency and a sickening disregard for life!
Kermith Sonnier Jr. was shot and
killed by a police officer on May 5th. After an alleged traffic
violation Police Officers reportedly pursued Sonnier on a high speed
car chase through Brownsville and on into the neighboring Village of
Century. Police have yet to disclose the nature of the traffic offense.
Police claim that during the chase Sonnier circled his car around the
police and then attempted to run them down as he drove toward
them.[more] Officers, one from Brownsville and another from Redstone
Township then fired three shots into his car; one shot killed him. A
toxicology report indicted that Sonnier had cocaine in his system.
However, many inconsistencies have been pointed out
in the police version of what happened to Sonnier. For instance,
although Sonnier was shot in the back, police maintain that they shot
at him as he charged towards them in his car. Police officials also
released statements claiming that Sonnier had damaged several police
cars with his truck. Yet photographs that have been taken of the truck
since the incident only reveal a slight dent to the vehicle. Moreover,
even though the police have stated that three shots were fired at
Sonnier the toxicology report indicated that there were no other
bullets in the car besides the fatal shot to Sonnier. Derrick
Fisher, an attorney for Sonnier's father has said that Brownsville
police have also denied Sonnier's attorneys access to: autopsy reports,
toxicology reports and an amateur video of the incident shot by a
neighbor. The police confiscated the video tape.
Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon has
stated she will not pursue criminal charges or a criminal investigation
against the officers and has said that their actions were "justified".
Sonnier's family has retained Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger, to pursue
civil claims against Brownsville on Sonnier's behalf. The NAACP,
Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition and the Pittsburgh Coalition of
Concerned Citizens are interested in the case.
Touted as a "more credible method" for collecting
data on racial profiling, a report by the Oakland Racial Profiling Task
Force was presented at a congressional luncheon Monday afternoon hosted
by the Rand Corp., a nonprofit research organization. The report is
expected to be sent to the Department of Justice for use as a guide for
other cities looking to track racial profiling. [more]
Officer shot dead Black teenager in the back. The 7th Black man killed by Louisville police in past 5 years.
Attorneys are drafting questions to gauge the impact of
publicity on prospective jurors in the murder case of a former police
officer charged with shooting a Black teenager in the back. Mattingly,
a former Louisville narcotics detective, is charged with murder in the
January shooting of Michael Newby, 19, outside a liquor store. The
shooting sparked protests led by civil-rights activists. Newby was the
seventh black man fatally shot by Louisville police in the past five
years, but Mattingly is the first officer charged in any of those
cases. [more]
New York City police officer pleaded not guilty today to second-degree manslaughter in the death of an unarmed Black man he shot to death in a Chelsea warehouse last year. A grand jury in Manhattan handed up the indictment on Wednesday. [more]
The latest incarnation of the Tulia suit comes in
the form of a federal suit, similar in form to the Tulia action, that
was filed this year by an Amarillo man who says he was abused by
members of the same drug task force that conducted the controversial
1999 Tulia drug sting. According to the lawsuit, Plemons was a customer
in an Amarillo furniture store Dec. 13, 2001, when officers connected
with the PRNTF conducted a drug raid. Plemons was forcefully
handcuffed, with officers stepping on his ankles and stomping on his
back, the suit claims. [more]
Athens' police chief and acting mayor have
named a four-member review panel to review police actions in an
incident last week that has sparked allegations of racism. [more]
Two
officers involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man last
year have been cleared of wrongdoing by Shreveport's civil service
board. 25-year-old
Marquise Hudspeth was shot in the back eight times after a chase. The
officers said they believed the cell phone Hudspeth was holding was a
gun. [more]
A grand jury in Manhattan handed up charges of
second-degree manslaughter yesterday against a police officer who
fatally shot an unarmed West African immigrant in a Chelsea warehouse
last year. [more] Pictured above:
Ousmane Zongo's wife, Salimata Sanfo, and brother, Daouda Zongo, held a
news conference last August to announce a lawsuit against the city.
Sutherland was shot while hanging out with
friends in Windsor, Pa. The militarized SWAT team kicked in the door,
and trooper Broaddus, aiming to kill, shot an unarmed man. [more]
