Yuba City Sikh trucker cleared - Fake Terrorist Hysteria is Silenced

The Douglas County, Ore., District Attorney's office won't pursue a weapons charge against a Yuba City Sikh truck driver stopped along Interstate 5 on Sept. 1, according to an attorney familiar with the case. Amardeep Singh, an attorney with the Sikh Coalition who represented Gurpal Singh Gill, said efforts to educate the court and the district attorney's office about Sikhism paid off. "It was really a combined effort," said Singh, who pointed out that the Sikh Coalition, the American Civil Liberties Union and the U.S. Department of Justice helped resolve the case with the district attorney's office. Gill was cited last month by an officer along Interstate 5 near Roseburg, Ore., for carrying a concealed weapon for the religious knife he wore at his side. The officer confiscated the knife, called a Kirpan, a religious symbol for Sikhs that protected by the constitution. [more

Jackson Police Photographing Black Residents

Blacks Stopped, Questioned and Photographed
Jackson native Donald Wilkes recalls being stopped four years ago by an officer who questioned why he was walking through the Lambuth neighborhood after 1 a.m. ''A police officer stopped to ask me could he help me,'' said Wilkes, 53. ''I told him 'no' and kept walking. When he stopped me, he asked me what I was doing, then said he was going to take my picture.'' After a 10-minute discussion with the officer, Wilkes said he would not allow the officer to take a photo of him. ''I think when he realized that I knew my rights, he finally backed off,'' Wilkes said. Although they haven't been charged with a crime, some local residents are stopped, questioned and even photographed by Jackson Police Department officers. That information is kept on file. The practice is called a field interview and law enforcement officials are standing by it, despite some local concerns about racial profiling and statistics that show that three out of every four such photos taken in recent months were of black citizens, most black males. According to statistics provided by JPD, a total of 369 photos were taken from June to September of this year alone. Of those, 281 (76 percent) of the people photographed were black, while 88 (24 percent) were white. Out of 17 crime categories, the highest number of photographs were taken for reasons of ''suspicious circumstances.'' Of the 118 photos taken, 75 percent were of blacks. In burglary investigations, 92 percent of the 62 photos were of blacks. [more ]

Louisville Cop who Killed Michael Newby will Go Free - Not Guilty

•  Prosecutors Bail Out -  Told the jury during closing arguments that Mattingly was NOT guilty of murder

A former Louisville police detective was acquitted of murder, manslaughter and reckless homicide Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a teenage drug suspect that stoked racial tensions in the city. The former detective, McKenzie Mattingly, showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. The jurors returned the partial verdict after more than eight hours of deliberations; the judge declared a mistrial on a separate charge of wanton endangerment after the jury was unable to reach agreement on that count. The jury was composd of 9 whites and 3 Blacks. Mattingly was charged with shooting 19-year-old Michael Newby three times in the back Jan. 3 during an undercover drug buy. The trial had been closely watched in Louisville's Black community. Outside the courthouse, as he got into his vehicle, Newby's stepfather, Jerry Bouggess, said: "There are murderers out here." [more ] and [more ] and [more ]

• Prosecutors, in an eleventh-hour turnaround, told jurors during closing arguments that they should not find Mattingly guilty of murder but convict him of a lesser charge. "I do not think that is what he is guilty of," said Scott Davis, an assistant prosecutor. Prosecutors eventually must decide whether to retry McKenzie Mattingly on the wanton endangerment charge. Attorneys will meet Monday with Circuit Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman to discuss what may happen next in the case
• A $5 million wrongful-death lawsuit filed in federal court by Michael Newby's family is pending against Mattingly and the Louisville metro government.
• Officials could not track down some witnesses to the shooting. Jefferson County prosecutors rested their murder case against former police Detective McKenzie Mattingly yesterday without calling two eyewitnesses and the man who was with 19-year-old Michael Newby when Mattingly shot him. When Newby was killed Jan. 3, Donitra Mullins and her brother, Alonzo Mullins, told police they saw the shooting unfold. But when prosecutors tried to subpoena the Mullinses, they could not find them, said Steve Tedder, spokesman for the Commonwealth's Attorney's office. In a statement given to police after the shooting, Donitra Mullins, 23, described seeing a white man and a black man struggling. "Then it looked like the black guy was getting ready to run or whatever, and then that's when I seen the gunshot coming out, the gun the white man had in his hand," Donitra Mullins told police the morning of the shooting. Mullins said Newby had his back to Mattingly. [more ]
• Over the past 7 Years at least 10 Black or Latino Men have been Killed by Louisville Police. No Officers have been Convicted [more]

Justice Department clears Police Officers in Larry "Nicky" Hill's Death

• NAACP Faults Bush and Ashcroft "Low Esteem for Civil Rights"
  

The U.S. Justice Department has cleared law officers in Nashville, Ark., of criminal wrongdoing in the death of a man in police custody. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division reviewed the case and concluded no criminal prosecution was warranted. Specifically, the letter states Howard County Deputy Gary B. Cogburn and Nashville Police Officer Steve Dallas were cleared of any alleged civil rights violations after the September 2003 arrest of Larry "Nicky" Hill Jr., 27, of Nashville. The Hill family filed a civil rights complaint against  the department for  use of excessive force. Speaking on behalf of Hill's family, Arlington C. Dumas, president of the Flint, Mich., NAACP Branch, expressed his dismay at the Department of Justice's findings. "It is a sad day in the history for civil rights that the U.S. Department of Justice would come to that conclusion," Dumas said. For him, it was no surprise, though. "You have a Department of Justice leader, (U.S. Attorney General John) Ashcroft, who was appointed by Mr. Bush that has a low esteem for civil rights," Dumas said. [more ] and [more ] and [more ]

• According to reports, Hill fled from Dallas during the course of a routine field sobriety test. He was apprehended by Dallas and again resisted arrest by struggling and fleeing into a wooded area, reports state. Dallas sprayed Hill with pepper spray after he was apprehended a second time and cuffed Hill.   The lawsuit contends that while trying to arrest Hill, Cogburn "unnecessarily and with unnecessary force" struck Hill in the right side of the head with his right fist. It was that injury, as well as officers' subsequent "refusal to obtain medical care" for Hill, that caused Hill's death, according to the suit. The results of an independent autopsy concluded that the ``manner of Hill's death should be ruled as homicide'' because his death occurred as a result of a violent struggle with police officers. [more ] and [more ]

Calumet City mayor accuses Black Teen of blocking inquiry

Calumet City's mayor on Tuesday accused a 15-year-old of obstructing the city's investigation into the teen's allegations of police brutality. Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush said in a news release that Don Pennington Jr. has "refused to agree to answer questions regarding what occured the afternoon of his arrest." Pennington accuses the police of beating him severely without provocation after a jaywalking arrest. Police, in turn, have charged Pennington with attacking police officers. Pennington's lawyers call the mayor's comments "absurd." "It's absurd for Calumet City to expect Mr. Pennington to agree to be interviewed by the same state's attorney's office that is prosecuting him for allegedly assaulting the police officers who have beaten him," Elliot Richardson said.City officials have refused to comment on what they believe happened that day, but have charged Pennington with aggravated battery to a police officer. Police union president Kevin Glaser said officers were injured by Pennington, who was "an out-of-control youth.  [more ]

• Black Teen Beaten by Police: Stopped for Jaywalking [more ]

Group says Calumet City law unfairly targets black youths

A group of protesters marched on City Hall again this week, this time asking for officials to repeal the city's jaywalking ordinance. The protest on Thursday was led by Voices of Morality, a group that aims to "right the wrongs of systematic injustice," said Leslie Brown, the group's spokesman. "We want it stopped," Brown said. "We're saying the old system's flawed and it needs to be stopped." The group demanded a public hearing on the jaywalking ordinance. The city ordinance mirrors a state statute, but prosecutes at the municipal level. Minors who are cited for violating the ordinance are taken to the police station and their parents are called. Brown said the city ordinance unfairly detains black children. "They're the only ones who seem to be targeted," Brown said. Police Chief Pat O'Meara said he does not know if the department keeps records on the racial make up of minors who have been arrested. [more ]

Pregnant Black Woman Tasered by Evergreen Police at her Wedding Reception

A suburban bride and her father accuse Evergreen Park police officers of assaulting them with stun guns at a wedding reception. The bride was two months pregnant when she was tasered in the stomach.  The Evergreen Park police say its officers used the stun gun after Clarence Phelps and his daughter, Romona Madison, became disorderly and resisted arrest. Clarence Phelps and Romona Madison said they did nothing to deserve the taser gun attack and are now suing the police department. According to a federal lawsuit filed against Evergreen Park police, the party was winding down in Phelps' backyard when a female police officer was called to the scene, responding to a noise complaint. "She asked that the music be turned off. The music was turned off. She did not leave the home," said Elliot Richardson, plaintiff's attorney. Richardson says what followed was a discussion between Phelps and the police officer. She called for back-up, and when other officers arrived, Phelps says he was tasered with a taser gun. "Ms. Madison called out for the officer to stop. They followed her into the house where she was arrested and tasered in the stomach -- despite advising the 'tasering' officer that she was pregnant."  Madison, who is two months pregnant, said she feared her pregnancy was in jeopardy after the stun gun. The lawsuit says Madison requested to be taken to the hospital, but police refused.  [more ] and [more ] and [more

3 Mount Olive Police Officers Arrested

• Officers Accused Of Stealing From Hispanic Motorists

Three Mount Olive police officers accused of stealing from Hispanic motorists during traffic stops were arrested Tuesday. Sgt. Joshua Ehnert and patrolmen Freddy Southerland and David Johnson are each charged with conspiracy to commit larceny. Investigators say the three men would pull Latino men over, demand their wallets and then take their money. Juvenico Peralta, president of the state's Mexican-American Association, said many Latinos were victims of a shakedown, but they were afraid to report it.. The officers were all suspended earlier this month.  The arrests stem from an undercover bust in which investigators say they took a wallet from an SBI agent. The three officers were suspended without pay shortly after the undercover bust. The Mount Olive police chief said all three men have officially resigned within the last week. All three are now free on bond.[more ] and [more ]

Charges Dropped Against Man who Recorded Police Arresting Black Men

Martell Miller was happy to hear the news that he no longer faces serious felony eavesdropping charges for recording the actions of local police at work. Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Dobson,  asked Presiding Judge Tom Difanis early Friday afternoon to dismiss them, which he did. Miller is one of the founding members of a citizens' group called Visionaries Educating Youth and Adults -- VEYA -- which had been tape-recording, with a video camera, stops of young black men by local police for a few months. Miller's colleague and another founding member of VEYA, Patrick Thompson, 35, helped Miller in the production of a 40-minute documentary that was a compilation of some of their recordings. That was also seized as part of the police investigation into the eavesdropping complaints, but was shown at the Champaign Public Library and Boardman's Art Theatre earlier this month. The charges against Miller were two counts of a Class 1 felony alleging on Aug. 7 he tape-recorded conversations between two University of Illinois police officers and a man they had stopped in Champaign and he had also recorded a conversation between two Champaign officers and a man they stopped in Champaign.  [more ]

Racist DNA Sweeps of Black Men in Baton Rouge and Omaha Challenged

Over the last three years, police have used this investigative technique to look for a serial murderer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and a serial rapist in Omaha, Nebraska. According to local news reports, the dragnet in Baton Rouge ensnared more than 1,000 people over the course of ten months, netted no viable suspects, and gave way to a lawsuit accusing the police of violating the Fourth Amendment rights of those sampled without written consent. The lawsuit is also asking that police destroy or return the DNA samples of those exonerated of any wrongdoing.  In June, Omaha police launched a DNA dragnet after the fourth in a series of what they believe are related rapes dating back to September 2002. Based on witness descriptions of the rapist, police asked more than 30 black employees at the Omaha Public Power District to give DNA samples. Once again, the dragnet produced no suspects, rattled many of the targeted employees, and has those who refused to give samples but were forced under warrant to give one anyway asking a judge to unseal the applications used to obtain warrants for their DNA samples. [more ]

Scandals mounting for police in Newark

A Newark police officer's courtroom admission last week that he and five colleagues shook down drug dealers for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for almost two years has left community activists and police brass concerned about the department's image and ability to do its job. But as troubling as the allegations Tyrone Dudley made in Superior Court in Trenton on Thursday may be, the case is only one of several legal headaches the Newark Police Department is experiencing. In addition to the case involving Dudley: The state Division of Criminal Justice is investigating whether one or more Newark police officers is connected to the fatal shooting of a Nutley man near a club on Bloomfield Avenue two years ago. The division also is checking whether a female officer may have protected a drug dealer who was her boyfriend. On Friday, a federal judge in Newark castigated the department's handling of a reputed drug dealer in jail on narcotics charges and set the man free, saying his constitutional rights were severely abused when he was arrested in 2002.  [more ]

Calls for Restrictions on Taser Gun Use

As local law enforcement agencies follow a national trend in arming officers with Taser stun guns, civil rights groups are expressing alarm that some departments allow the liberal use of the weapons instead of limiting their use to situations where a life is in danger. Warning that more than 70 suspects nationwide have died after being shocked by Tasers in the past five years -- including 10 in August alone -- the American Civil Liberties Union urged San Francisco police commissioners last week to restrict their use to confrontations where "there is an imminent threat to human life."  Critics and medical experts question the thoroughness of safety research sponsored by the stun gun manufacturer and say more independent studies are needed to resolve concerns that Tasers pose a risk to suspects who are agitated mental patients, intoxicated or have pre-existing heart ailments. [more ]

DC Metro Police Accost Pregnant Black Woman Over Loud Cell Phone Call

Sakinah Aaron was walking into the bus area at the Wheaton Metro station several weeks ago, talking loudly on her Motorola cell phone. A little too loudly for Officer George Saoutis of the Metro Transit Police. The police officer told Aaron, who is five months pregnant, to lower her voice. She told the officer he had no right to tell her how to speak into her cell phone. Their verbal dispute quickly escalated, and Saoutis grabbed Aaron by the arm and pushed her to the ground. He handcuffed the 23-year-old woman, called for backup and took her to a cell where she was held for three hours before being released to her aunt. She was charged with two misdemeanors: "disorderly manner that disturbed the public peace" and resisting arrest. [more ]

Arbitrator judges no Police Brutality in Morse case

• Recommends that the policeman be given back pay and a cleared record.

An impartial arbitrator has found that former Inglewood police officer Jeremy Morse did not use excessive force in the videotaped arrest of a teenager and recommended that the city compensate Morse with full back pay since his termination two years ago. Arbitrator Donald A. Anderson of Rolling Hills Estates heard evidence over three days in May and June from both the Inglewood Police Officers Association, representing Morse, and the city of Inglewood in Morse's disciplinary action appeal. Without proper investigation and in violation of Morse's rights, Anderson found, the city and Police Chief Ronald Banks fired Morse on the grounds that his actions were excessive and outside the scope of his training and department policy. Anderson recommended that Morse should not be reinstated, but rather reimbursed for lost wages, less any income he received in the interim, including unemployment compensation.

• Morse (Pictured above) was terminated shortly after the July 6, 2002, incident at a gas station where Morse and officer Bijan Darvish aided sheriff's deputies in a skirmish that began when they questioned Jackson's father about an expired license tag. Jackson, who was a special education student ignored a deputy's warnings to stay back. Jackson was taken to the ground as officers tried to handcuff him. A videotape, taken by an amateur videographer, shows Morse lifting the 16-year-old off the ground by the back of his collar and waistband. The city contends Morse then used excessive force and "slammed" the unresisting teen down on the back of a patrol car.  Morse is also seen punching Jackson in the face, but claims Jackson grabbed his groin and ignored his orders to "Let go." [more ]

Marchers allege brutality in Black man's death

• Marietta Police continue probe as racial tension builds

Kevin Robinson was one of about 50 people who marched through downtown Marietta Saturday to protest the death of his best friend. Robinson's friend, Paul Johnson, 19, died Tuesday evening in a police holding cell after getting into a fight with several Marietta police officers at Glenbrooke Apartments. Johnson's funeral was Saturday. The march was organized by New Order, a civil rights group based in Cobb that has taken on the county's racial issues. The protesters believe Johnson, who was black, was a victim of police brutality. "That really broke my heart to see what happened," said Robinson, also 19. "They're finding ways to kill us." The group of family, friends and supporters walked about four blocks from the Cobb County Library in downtown Marietta to the police station. They didn't have a permit for the march, but Marietta police cars stopped traffic for them as they walked in the street shouting "We want justice! It's always just us!" [more ]

Trial Against Louisville Police Officer who Killed Michael Newby Continues

Partner testifies in Mattingly trial.
Louisville Metro Police Detective Matthew Thomerson testified yesterday that he thought "very seriously" about shooting at Michael Newby after the teenager broke free from a struggle with another officer on Jan. 3 and began to run. Thomerson said that as Newby maneuvered between vehicles, away from him and his partner, former Detective McKenzie Mattingly, he repeatedly looked back, and at one point faced them "I could see his face," Thomerson told a Jefferson Circuit Court jury yesterday during the sixth day of Mattingly's trial on charges of murder and wanton endangerment in the fatal shooting of Newby, 19. "Once he turned and faced both of us," Thomerson said, Mattingly fired "within seconds." Asked by prosecutors why he did not shoot at Newby, Thomerson testified that he considered it, but "at no point did I see a weapon or see him make an aggressive movement other than when he was down on the ground and probably already been shot." Thomerson added, however, that he could only see Newby from his chest up and could not see his hands. [more ]

• Prosecution Rests In Murder Trial; Mattingly To Testify [more ]

Black Man Beat Down by Marietta Police Dies in Custody -Community Outraged

Three Marietta police officers were placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday after a drug arrest suspect died while in police custody. The man's family claimed that officers fatally beat their son. Officials at Kennestone Hospital declared 19-year-old Black man,  Paul Johnson dead Tuesday night after receiving him from police custody.  The incident began when  officers confronted Johnson and three other suspects who were allegedly dealing drugs in front of the Glenbrooke Apartments.  Johnson got into an altercation with two of the officers, police said.  One man arrested, Simon Riley said that police officers continued to beat Johnson after he was on the ground. One officer had Johnson in a choke hold after he was in handcuffs. Witnesses said that someone took pictures during the altercation, but that police destroyed the camera. Marietta police officials denied those claims. Members of Paul Johnson's famly said they want to know why he wasn't immediately hospitalized.  Emergency medical workers checked Johnson at the apartments and declared him to be OK after his arrest, said Brian Marshall, a police spokesman. About 45 minutes later, paramedics were called to police headquarters after a watch commander noticed that Johnson appeared to be ill while in a holding cell, Marshall said. "The police put him into the cell and he collapsed. He was complaining that something was hurting him. He complained to the police that his throat was hurting him and he couldn't breathe," said Dawn Jackson, Johnson's mother.[more ] and  [more ]

Since 1997 at least 10 Black or Latino Men Killed by Louisville Police

  
   

Over the past 7 Years at least 10 Black and Latino Men have been Killed by Louisville Police. No Officers have been Convicted: The Officer who killed Michael Newby could be the first. 

1. Robert Whitlow. Officers not indicted. 3/13/1997 [more ]
   
2. Adrian Reynolds. Officers found not guilty. 1/7/1998. [more ] and  [more ]
   
3. Fidencio Campos-Cruz.  Officers not indicted. 1/13/1998 [more ]
4. Desmond Rudolph. Officers not indicted. 1/15/1999 [more ] and more
5. Rodney Abernathy. Officers not indicted. 1/25/2000 [more ]
6. Clifford Lewis. Officers not indicted. 1/9/2001 [more ]
7. Antwan D. Bryant. Not presented to grand jury. 2/6/2001 [more]
8. James Edward Taylor. Officers not indicted. 12/5/2002 [more ]
9. Marshall Marbly. Prosecutors still reviewing the case. 8/22/2002. [more ]
10. Michael Newby. Case is currently underway. 1/3/2004 [more ]

• Pictured above: From left to right - James Edwards Taylor,  Desmond Rudolph, Michael Newby, Roney Abernathy, Clifford Lewis, Marshall Marbly, Antwan Bryant and Adrian Reynolds. (Fidencio Campos-Cruz and Robert Whitlow are not pictured). 
• In civil trials Rodney Abernathy, Desmond Rudolph, and Adrian Reynolds have received settments or jury awards [more ] The James Edwards Taylor civil trial against two Louisville officers is discussed below .
  
• For more information see this chart created by the Subversive Southerner [here ] and Stolen Lives.org  [here ]

Michael Newby Trial Continues: Black Teen Interrupted Louisville Police Sting

A black teen fatally shot by a white narcotics detective, sparking weeks of protests, wasn't the dealer the officer had arranged to meet for an undercover drug buy, witnesses said Friday at the officer's murder trial. On Jan. 3, officers were waiting near a liquor store for a dealer whom narcotics Detective McKenzie Mattingly had contacted by phone that night. While Mattingly sat in an undercover vehicle, he was approached by Michael Newby, 19, and two other men who wanted to sell him crack, witnesses said.  Minutes later, Newby was shot three times in the back; he died at a hospital the next morning.  Mattingly's attorneys have argued Newby made a gesture that signaled he was reaching for a weapon. Prosecutors, however, said Mattingly never mentioned Newby had a gun, and officers didn't know Newby was armed until after he was shot. Kyle Willet, a detective who worked undercover with Mattingly, said his partner was "pale-faced, somewhat distraught and wide-eyed" after the shooting. The detective put his hands on top of his head and said "Oh my God," Mitch Gibson testified. The trial is expected to last another week. [more ]

• Mattingly Supporters Say Protestors Have Tainted Jury Pool [more ]