Latino Man recieves $77,000 settlement from Riverside County - Beaten While Handcuffed

Riverside County officials have paid $77,000 to a Mexican national who filed a lawsuit last year after being punched in the face by a sheriff's deputy. Francisco Padilla's lawsuit alleged that Deputy Alexander G. Todd beat him without provocation during a traffic stop west of Temecula in April 2003. Todd said in his police report that he had acted in self-defense. The encounter was recorded on videotape, and earlier this year, the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles found that the deputy was not using excessive force when he punched Padilla. Todd still works at the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Southwest Station. Padilla, 19, filed a second lawsuit in September after being arrested outside a Food 4 Less store in Temecula. The settlement resolves both lawsuits, said Luis Carrillo, one of Padilla's attorneys. Gregory Moreno, Padilla's other attorney, said the agreement sends a message. "The amount is significant enough to show that there is something irregular that occurred out there that day," he said. "This particular kind of conduct is not acceptable," he added. After the first incident, Padilla voluntarily went back to Mexico, Carrillo said, but he later returned to Riverside County. He was deported after the Food 4 Less incident. Carrillo said the money will be sent to him in Mexico. The tape was obtained by Los Angeles-area television station Telemundo 52, and parts of it were broadcast across Southern California. In his police report, Todd said he had acted in self-defense when he punched Padilla. Todd said Padilla tried to flee while being issued a traffic citation and continued to struggle to get away even when Todd had him on the ground. [more] and [more] [more]

Police chief Slams arbitrator's decision to Re-instate Cop Who Killed Pedro Navarro

Police Chief Harold Hurtt and two City Council members said they oppose the reinstatement of a Houston police sergeant who supervised the botched 1998 raid that led to the fatal shooting of Pedro Oregon Navarro. Hurtt said Monday that he will fight last week's decision by an arbitrator to reinstate Darrell H. Strouse, 40. The arbitrator also ruled that Strouse be demoted to the lower rank of officer and awarded back pay dating to 2002. Strouse supervised the controversial July 12, 1998, raid for which he and five other officers were fired. Hurtt, who was not chief at the time of the incident, said during a city council public safety committee meeting Monday that HPD "did the right thing" in firing Strouse. Hans Marticiuc, Houston Police Officers Union president, said the only way to overturn an arbitrator's decision is to prove the arbitrator exceeded his authority or prove the decision was tainted by collusion. The raid occurred at a southwest Houston apartment where an informant said illegal drugs were being sold, but no drugs were found. Oregon, 22, was shot when officers raided his apartment without a search warrant. When one of the officers accidentally fired a shot, police mistakenly thought the gunfire came from Oregon and fired about 30 rounds. Oregon was shot 12 times, including nine times in his back. A police investigation later determined that Oregon was armed but never fired his gun. [more]

Fort Myers Police use of force probed: Officers used Taser, pepper spray, batons on Black Man

• Man had Stolen CD's from Store

Fort Myers police say Franklin Pierre stole 10 CDs Wednesday from a store on Fowler Street. Pierre was eventually taken into custody near Dunbar Community School, but not before officers used a Taser, pepper spray and metal batons on the 5-foot 9-inch, 250-pound man. Top police brass are now investigating the use of force by the officers involved in the incident. All their names were not available Thursday. Pierre was charged with shoplifting and resisting an officer with violence. His father paid $500 Thursday to bail him out of jail. Fort Myers police Maj. Doug Baker said an initial review of the case shows Pierre, 28, of 2940 Broadway St., was not responding to verbal commands to stop resisting the officers. A review of a surveillance camera mounted in a police cruiser shows proof that officers told Pierre to stop resisting or get down 22 times, Baker said. The video did not capture the whole incident, Baker said, but it did pick up voices from Pierre and officers.  Sylonia Williams, a retired Fort Myers police records clerk, saw police beating the man in the street from her home at the intersection of Blount and High streets. She said the barefooted man in a white T-shirt was up against the hood of a police car. She saw six or eight officers there. "I couldn't understand why it took so many officers," she said. "I asked (the officers) what it was all about and they didn't tell me. I heard the police say, 'go down man, go down.' [more]

Council indemnifies officers in shooting of Maui Woman

The County Council voted Tuesday to indemnify two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Maui woman earlier this year. The family of Lisa Kaina, who was killed Jan. 23, has sued the county and the officers, alleging wrongful death and the use of excessive and deadly force. Maui police officers Nelson Johnson and Allen De Lara, who are named as defendants in the lawsuit, were indemnified by the council's unanimous vote. That means the county will pay for any monetary damages for which they are found liable in the suit. Kaina was killed by a single shot that struck her in the head when the two officers ordered her to stop. She allegedly stole a rental car and led police on a high-speed chase into Paia, where she crashed into a police patrol car and a tree as she tried to get away.  Family members and some witnesses are criticizing Maui police for the pursuit and fatal shooting of a 27-year-old mother of three who was driving an allegedly stolen car in Paia on Friday. Maui police said an officer shot and killed Lisa KainaFriday afternoon when she refused to stop and tried to reverse the 2004 white Cadillac into another officer after a pursuit that ended on the sidewalk fronting Bank of Hawaii. "The police had no right shooting her," said Kaina's brother, Andy Tomita. Tomita said based on his talks with eyewitnesses, the Cadillac was unable to reverse or move forward, because police cars were in the back of her and the front was blocked by a traffic sign. "She had her hands in the air," he said. "My sister was cornered in." Tomita said a police officer got out of the car, approached the driver's side with the windows up and fired at point- blank range, striking Kaina twice in the head.[more] and [more]

March Will Protest Kenneth Walker's Death by Police

• Jesse Jackson Anounces Protest of Killing of Unarmed, Innocent Black Man
  

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and members of the Concerned Black Clergy announced Monday that they will hold a march to protest the death of an unarmed Columbus, Ga., man who was shot by a sheriff's deputy last year during a traffic stop. Kenneth Walker was gunned down by a deputy although no weapons or drugs were found on the man. An estimated 15,000 people are expected to participate in the Jan. 15 march in Columbus, which will be held on the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Police were reportedly looking for guns and drugs on the night of Dec. 10, 2003 and stopped a vehicle carrying three men and Kenneth Walker, who was shot to death by Deputy David Glisson. No weapons or drugs were found. Jackson, who marched with King, compared the death of Kenneth Walker to the infamous beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King in 1992. "There was no evidence that Kenneth Walker was being aggressive or that he was armed," Jackson said Monday during a news conference held at the Community Church of God in southwest Atlanta. "Those who (killed him) walked free." A Muscogee County grand jury declined last month to indict the deputy, although he has been fired from his job. [more]

Another suit filed in shooting death of Kenneth Walker during traffic stop

Another lawsuit has been filed in the case of a man who was shot to death by a sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop - this time by the three people who were riding with the victim. Warren Beaulah, Anthony Smith and Daryl Ransom claim in the $3.5 million suit against the city of Columbus and the Muscogee County sheriff that their constitutional rights were violated when they were handcuffed, searched and held for several hours. Five deputies also are named in the suit, which was filed Monday in federal court. Police were looking for guns and drugs the night they stopped a vehicle carrying the three men and Kenneth Walker, who was shot to death by Deputy David Glisson. No weapons or drugs were found. [more]

Diallos face visa battle

• Security-minded Congress a hurdle for victim's kin

With the sixth anniversary of Amadou Diallo's shooting death just around the corner, his father met with a local congressman yesterday, hoping to hear good news about the family's immigration status. Saikou Diallo and several family members have been in the United States on humanitarian visas due to expire next August. Rep. Joseph Crowley introduced a special bill in the last Congress - without success - to take up the issue, and yesterday told Diallo he has reintroduced the bill for the upcoming 109th Congress. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) may submit a separate bill, or co-sponsor Crowley's, and Sen. Hillary Clinton's office has indicated it would support similar legislation in the Senate, Crowley said. "Saikou Diallo has gone through enormous hardship with the death of his son Amadou, and his tireless work for the Amadou Diallo Foundation most certainly warrants an immigrant visa," said Crowley (D-East Bronx/Queens). Crowley cautioned, however, that he has concerns about the difficulty of pushing the bill through a Republican-controlled congress that is in a national security mode and has become "focused on even stopping legal immigration." Diallo said that besides himself, eight family members, including Amadou's mother, Kadiatou, and her new husband hope to have their visas extended, at the very least until a lengthy process of civil suits against the city and others involved in the fatal shooting plays out. Saikou Diallo's foundation, The Amadou Diallo Educational, Humanitarian & Charity Foundation, has distributed college scholarships for African and African-American students and is in the process of raising funds to buy the house at 1157 Wheeler Ave., in Soudview, where his son was killed in a hail of 41 bullets fired by four plainclothes police officers on Feb. 4, 1999. [more]

• 41 Bullets - The Amadou Diallo Archive [more]
• The Amadou Diallo Foundation [more]

Willie Gary is Taking Sammy Evans Case

• Black Man Killed while in Police Custody
  

In the courtroom he's known as the "Giant Killer," and now his office is taking on a high profile case that started with the death of a Jacksonville grandfather. Willie Gary is known on the first coast for hosting his annual Willie Gary Classic. First Coast News has confirmed that Gary's office has agreed to take the Sammy Lee Evans case, though it's not clear yet what kind of legal action Evans's family may seek. The FBI has been called in to investigate what happened to Evans when Jacksonville Sheriff's Deputies took him into custody in Springfield earlier this month. Some community leaders have raised questions of police brutality in connection with Evans's death and the death of a homeless inmate at the Duval County Jail just a few days later. Evans and two other men were stopped for having open containers. After Evans was taken into custody, Sheriff's deputies noticed he was no longer responsive and called for emergency help. Evans died. While autopsy results have not been released, police say Evans died because of a broken neck. A rookie with the JSO who had just been reprimanded for using excessive force while arresting a teenager was also involved in Evans's arrest. That officer, Kaleb Underwood, has since resigned from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. [more]

Dozens Tell NAACP of Jacksonville Police Using Excessive Force

After two black men charged with minor crimes died in police custody the first weekend of December, the NAACP scheduled a meeting to hear from other members of the community about their treatment by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Thursday night, more than 100 people turned out at Central Baptist Church in Springfield to tell of their encounters with police. Speaker after speaker said there is a pattern of excessive force. "I'm not afraid of criminals, I'm not afraid of anybody with guns. The only people I'm afraid of is JSO," Tony PIttman said. NAACP President Isaiah Rumlin demanded that city officials create a citizens committee to review the use of police force. Ezra Jones, 29, died in police after being restrained at the Duval County Jail shortly after his arrest Dec. 5.Sammy Evans Jr., 49, died after his arrest early for public drinking across from his home Dec. 3. Sammy Evans Jr., 49, died after his arrest early Friday morning on suspicion of public drinking. He had an open container of alcohol across the street from his house. Autopsy results show he had a broken neck. Ezra Jones, 29, died in police custody shortly after being arrested Sunday afternoon. He was described as "combative" and placed in a restraining chair. He died 40 minutes later. The cause of his death has not yet been determined. In addition to an internal investigation, Sheriff John Rutherford asked federal prosecutors to see if there was any criminal wrongdoing in the two men's deaths. The FBI is now investigating. On Monday, state Sen. Tony Hill is scheduled to announce formation of a Jacksonville Deadly Force Review Commission, which will review the deaths in custody of Evans and Jones. [more]

Boston Police shooting of Black man justified, DA says

• NAACP says Bert Bowen Investigation Based on Incomplete Information

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced yesterday that investigators have concluded that the two Boston police officers who fatally shot a Roxbury man this summer were justified in their use of force and said that additional inquiries made at the request of the man's family only strengthened that conclusion. Last month, Conley's office released a summary of the five-month investigation, which concluded that the officers should not be criminally charged in the death of Bert W. Bowen, but postponed releasing the full report after family members and community leaders raised concerns. The June 27 shooting angered some community activists because Bowen, 40, was shot three times while fleeing after a traffic stop, and because some witnesses said he was unarmed. The investigation concluded that Bowen was carrying a loaded handgun and that when the officers fired at Bowen they legitimately feared that he would kill one of them or a bystander. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also traced the semiautomatic handgun to Mississippi and determined it was stolen. Conley said the agency and Boston Police are investigating how the gun reached Boston. Investigators also allowed a medical examiner retained by Bowen's family to review the state medical examiner's findings, which concluded the fatal shot traveled from right to left before striking his head and did not enter from the back as had been rumored.  [more]

Kalamazoo NAACP asks for more investigation into deadly shooting of Black Man

The head of the NAACP Chapter in Kalamazoo is asking for another look at a police shooting in the city. John Gill was shot to death by Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Officer Stacey Geik in September. A little more than a month ago, a police investigation ruled the shooting justifiable and that Geik would not face charges. Jerry McNeely released a letter Tuesday, a copy of which was sent to the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office and Public Safety Chief Dan Weston, asking for authorities to take a closer look at Gill's death. McNeely is not sure the truth is being told. Authorities were called to the Madeira Apartment complex  on September 30 to put out a fire. Sergeant Stacy Geik returned to the scene later in the day to follow up on the fire investigation. He was then confronted by 51-year-old Gill who lived in the apartment where the fire took place. Investigators believe Gill started the fire. Gill had a gun and the transcript describes what happened when Geik tried to get Gill out of his apartment. "Will you please close the door and let me go to sleep?" Gill asked Geik. "What kind of gun is that?" responded Geik. "Would you please?" Gill asked again. "No sir, I can't do that," said Geik. "Now don't come up to me...John stop, stop right there...step back, don't raise it John, don't raise it." Two gunshots were fired and Geik told dispatch the subject was down. But McNeely doesn't believe it happened that way and wonders if Gill was actually shot in the back. But according to the medical examiner the autopsy report says there were two bullet wounds. One of them hit Gill in his chest and killed him, according to the autopsy report. The other bullet hit Gill in the top of his left shoulder, and believed to have happened when Gill fell after being shot the first time. [more]

• Recording indicates man shot dead refused orders to drop gun [more]

Federal agency drops civil rights inquiry in police dog attack on Black Man

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its inquiry into whether a Florida man's civil rights were violated when he was attacked by a Mountain View police dog. The decision concludes government investigations into the Sept. 4 incident, when Jacksonville, Fla., resident Patrick Terry was bitten on the thigh by a German shepherd during a confrontation with police. An internal investigation by Mountain View police, another by an outside consultant hired by the city of Mountain View, and now the Department of Justice review each found no wrongdoing. But civil lawsuits may yet be filed, a representative for Terry says. Police approached Terry on the 2700 block of El Camino Real, believing that a late-night sidewalk argument between Terry and his white girlfriend was escalating into domestic violence. According to police the dog, escaped from the back seat of a police car by jumping to the front seat, where either a door or a window was open, then bit Terry without being ordered to do so by an officer. Terry, who was handcuffed and on the ground at the time, required stitches and was not arrested in the incident. Terry believes that he was stopped, and that the dog attacked him, because he's a 6-foot-7 African-American who was with a petite white woman. He alleges that the incident is an example of police brutality and racial profiling. Under the advice of an attorney, Terry refused to be interviewed by the FBI, according to Rick Callender, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley chapter of the NAACP. Because of that, Callender said, it was inevitable that the Department of Justice would say there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute a civil rights violation. The local NAACP chapter and Terry are considering filing a lawsuit in regards to the incident, said Callender, who has been advising Terry since the incident.[more]

Monroe grand jury set to probe police shooting of William Mack Henderson

A Ouachita Parish grand jury is scheduled to hear evidence January tenth in the police shooting death of William Mack Henderson. The 58-year-old Henderson was killed in a hail of gunfire after Monroe police said he refused repeated commands to drop a knife and chain and lunged toward them last August. A one-thousand page state police report on its investigation into the shooting will frame the case presented to the grand jury. The number of witnesses to be called has not been finalized. Some civilians, who claim to have witnessed the confrontation, have contradicted official police accounts of the incident. Five Monroe officers who fired weapons that day have been on paid administrative leave pending outcome of the investigation. District Attorney Jerry Jones, who has visited the site of the shooting and studied the investigation report, estimates the grand jury proceedings could take three-to-four days. [more]

Broward Sheriff's Office to pay medical bills for Latino man shot by deputies

A Mexican national who was shot by a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy last month was released from the hospital last Tuesday, and officials say the man will be cared for at the department's expense. Paramedics loaded a stretcher carrying German Gomez, 22, into an ambulance about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday outside North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach. Gomez was taken to the Manor Pines Convalescent Home in Wilton Manors, where he will be treated for at least 30 days and then re-evaluated to determine what further care he might need, said David Kubiliun, his attorney. Javier Dominguez, Gomez's cousin who was with him the night Gomez was shot, also rode to the convalescent home in the ambulance. The Sheriff's Office would not say how much Gomez's treatment would cost or where the money would come from. Gomez was shot Nov. 3 by Deputy Lewis Perry outside the Whispering Isles apartment complex in Pompano Beach. Perry and his partner, Richard Mosca, had been dispatched there to investigate a report of a burglary in progress, and the officers saw Gomez and Dominguez running from the complex. Perry's attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, said the cousins matched the description of the burglars, so the deputies confronted the men. What happened next is unclear, but Perry shot Gomez in the head, critically wounding him. Kubiliun has said the cousins surrendered peacefully and the shooting was unjustified. Schwartzreich has said Gomez provoked Perry and the men disobeyed orders from Perry and Mosca to stop running toward them. Dominguez said he and Gomez, who do not understand English, were not burglarizing the apartment and they mistook the dwelling for their own, in a similar, adjacent building. [more] and [more]

Deputy Kills Man Breaking into a Vending Machine

A man trying to steal cash from a pair of vending machines at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie was shot and killed by a deputy after a foot chase and a fight over the deputy's gun Tuesday morning, authorities said. Randy Gros, 40, was shot in the front yard of a home in the 3100 block of 40th Street in Metairie, Sheriff's Office spokesman Col. John Fortunato said. He was shot in the right shoulder and the left armpit. Another bullet grazed his chest.Gros used wire cutters to get to the machines, Maestri said. ipps caught up with Gros in front of the home in the 3100 block of 40th Street, Fortunato said. During a struggle with Gros, Lipps' Taser stun gun fell to the ground, Fortunato said. When Gros tried to grab Lipps' gun, the deputy shot him, Fortunato said. The resident of the 40th Street home said he heard voices and then gunshots. The resident, who did not want to be identified, said he opened his front door and found the deputy and the suspect on the ground in the leaves amid his display of Christmas lights and reindeer. Both the deputy and Lipps were conscious, the resident said. Gros was writhing in pain, holding his shoulder. The Rev. William Maestri, superintendent of schools for the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, called the shooting a tragedy. Maestri estimated the machines take in no more than about $100 each. "No one wants to have a loss of life, especially over something like this," Maestri said. Gros' death is the second this month related to an encounter with Jefferson Parish deputies. Patrick Fleming of Kenner died two days after Jefferson deputies used a Taser gun twice to shock him after a traffic stop on Dec. 2. [more]

Philiadelphia Police shoot, kill knife-wielding man

Four cops shot and killed a man waving a hunting knife on a North Philadelphia street last night, police said. Cops said they don't know why the man, who was in his late 20s and wasn't from the neighborhood, was on the block about 9:30 p.m. screaming and waving the knife with an 8-inch blade. Police said they went to the scene on Cleveland Street near Cumberland after neighbors called 911 about a man with a knife acting bizarre. "He was mad about something," said an officer at the scene. The officer said four officers from the 22nd district fired at the man after he lunged at him. "He left us no choice," the cop said. Neighbors at the corner of Cleveland and Cumberland, looking at the aftermath of the shooting, pointed at the pavement littered with more than 20 shell casings fired by police. Blood was splattered on the street. A 23-year-old woman who lives in the neighborhood, said she watched the incident from her bedroom window. "I went to my bedroom window and saw cops, about 5 to 7 of them, with guns drawn. As I was coming down the stairs, I heard about eight shots. He had a knife, he couldn't harm any of them. I don't think all of them was necessary." The man was taken to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Homicide detectives and the Internal Affairs Division were investigating. [more]

Riders Case: Oakland Police lied, brutalized man, ex-rookie testifies

• Whistle-blower says he feared losing job by coming forward

The former rookie Oakland police officer whose accusations set off a criminal probe of four officers known as "the Riders" said at their retrial Monday that he hadn't immediately reported what he saw for fear of losing his job. Keith Batt, 28, described how the ex-officers had forced him to lie on police reports, told him to ignore what he had learned in the police academy and beaten a man so hard that he screamed "at the top of his voice." Batt quit the Oakland force after coming forward and has since flourished as an officer in Pleasanton, where he is a firearms instructor in charge of the department's gun range, member of the SWAT team, drug expert and arson investigator. Under questioning Monday by Deputy District Attorney Terry Wiley, Batt said he had kept quiet at first about the alleged misconduct of the Riders, knowing that if he broke the code of silence and decided to "rat on cops," fellow officers would "turn their back on me." "At that time, I didn't know what to do," said Batt, clad in his police uniform. "I knew what was going on was wrong, but I wanted my job." Former officers Matt Hornung, 33, Clarence "Chuck" Mabanag, 39, and Jude Siapno, 36, watched impassively as Batt testified in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland. A fourth fired officer, Frank Vazquez, the alleged ringleader, is a fugitive. The three defendants are being retried on charges that they assaulted people, falsified police reports and conspired to obstruct justice while patrolling West Oakland in 2000. In September 2003, after the longest criminal trial in county history, a jury acquitted the three of eight charges and deadlocked on the remaining 27 charges. Batt testified Monday that just days into his introduction to street patrol, he had been "forced as a condition of my employment to engage in illegal activity, whether it be falsifying reports or engaging in excessive force." But Batt said he was afraid that Mabanag, his field training officer, could give him negative evaluations and flunk him from the force if the rookie reported the alleged crimes by the Riders. [more]

• Defense attacks 'Riders' witness [more]
  

NO Justice from the Justice Department: No charges against PA Troopers who Shot 12 Year Old Black Boy on Christmas Eve

Two police officers involved in a Christmas Eve shooting in which a 12-year-old black boy was fatally shot in the back two years ago won't face federal charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.  Michael Ellerbe was shot in a Uniontown alley in 2002 while running from two state troopers who were chasing a stolen SUV, police said. The shooting inflamed racial tensions. The Justice Department said Monday that "there is insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges," according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan and Assistant Attorney General R. Alexander Acosta. "The evidence in this case indicates that the troopers believed that Michael Ellerbe may have had a gun, and that the trooper who fired the fatal shot believed that Michael Ellerbe had shot at his partner first," Buchanan wrote. "Although the results of the investigation indicated that both of these beliefs turned out to be erroneous, there was evidence indicating that these beliefs were held in good faith." At a coroner's hearing in January 2003, Trooper Samuel Nassan testified that he fired at the boy because he thought his partner, Juan Curry, had been shot. Curry, who is black, testified that his gun had accidentally gone off as he crossed a fence while chasing Ellerbe. Joel Sansone, the attorney for Ellerbe's father, Michael Hickenbottom, said called Buchanan's decision was "very bad news." "I never had any faith in police policing police. And while it's disappointing, it's not a surprise," Sansone said. He said he believes there is strong evidence to seek charges against the police, and added the family is considering asking federal officials to review the decision not to do so. A wrongful death lawsuit against the troopers that claims they intentionally shot Ellerbe is also still pending. [more] and [more]

• State Police Shoot a 12-year-old In the Back And Call It Justified [more]
• Ellerbe's family sues, alleges cover-up [more]