Jacksonville Sheriffs Broke Handcuffed Black Man's Neck - Dauughters Bring Suit The daughters of a man who died
of a broken neck during a struggle with police have asked for $7.5
million to settle a lawsuit against the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Attorney Willie Gary notified the city by mail that he is representing
the four daughters of Sammie Evans, 49, who died when former Officer
Kaleb Underwood took him to the ground during a public drinking arrest
Dec. 3. "This egregious action taken by Officer Underwood against a
handcuffed gentleman resulted in the breaking of Mr. Evans' neck," Gary
wrote in an intent-to-sue letter received by city officials Monday.
City attorneys said Evans' death was still being reviewed and declined
comment on the potential lawsuit. But the claim wasn't unexpected, said
Rick Mullaney, the city's general counsel. The case is the second this
month in which the city is facing a lawsuit for actions allegedly taken
by Underwood, a rookie patrolman who resigned a day after Evans' death.
On Jan. 4, the parents of a Jacksonville teenager filed an excessive
force claim for $600,000. They claimed their son was handcuffed then
kicked and punched in the face by Underwood after running from police
Oct. 1. Police investigators had recommended a finding that Underwood,
27, used excessive force in that incident. But Underwood's brother said
his family is confident his name will be cleared. At the request of Sheriff John
Rutherford, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office are investigating Evans'
death and that of Ezra Jones, 29, at the jail two days later. The
sheriff's office serves as the police department for the Jacksonville
area. A month after Evans' death, a Duval County judge held the city's
public drinking law unconstitutional. [more]
A suspended Grand Rapids police officer -- turned in by his fellow
officers for roughing up a man who ran from him -- pleaded no contest
to misdemeanor assault in Grand Rapids District Court Thursday. As part
of his plea agreement, Officer Matthew Lockhart agreed to stop fighting
the police department's attempt to fire him, thus clearing the way for
his termination. The nine-year veteran currently is suspended without
pay, and his union had filed a grievance, contesting the firing.
Lockhart had been charged with aggravated assault, a one-year
misdemeanor, and jury selection in his trial was to begin Thursday,
said his attorney, Peter Walsh. But instead, Lockhart pleaded no
contest to simple assault, a 93-day misdemeanor. He is to be sentenced
in March. The charge stems from a June 13 traffic stop. Darrius Joseph,
19, was a passenger in a car stopped for a minor traffic violation when
he jumped from the car and ran. Joseph, wanted for a probation
violation and larceny warrant, ran two blocks before he gave up. Joseph
has said he put his hands behind his back and waited to be arrested.
That's when witnesses said Lockhart allegedly slammed his police radio
into Joseph's head, requiring three stitches. Joseph also suffered a
broken rib. Two officers, not among the first to catch up to Joseph,
reported to Internal Affairs that Lockhart used excessive force. At the
time, Grand Rapids Police Chief Harry Dolan said the officers who
turned in Lockhart showed the department's integrity. [more]
Preliminary autopsy results on the victim of a police-involved shooting
here show Francisco T. Barva was shot once in the head, according to
Lea County (N.M.) Sheriff’s Department public information officer Capt.
Rod D. Coffman. The preliminary investigation shows two shots were
fired by Hobbs police officer Reid Gunter but only one shot struck the
victim, Coffman said. He said there was one entry and one exit wound.
Coffman said the results were part of an oral report from the Office of
the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque, and he did not know when the
written report would be finished. The shooting of 23-year-old Barva, of
Hobbs, occurred at 5:36 p.m. Jan. 19 Hobbs time after Gunter
tried to make a traffic stop in the 300 block of West Gypsy, police
said. In addition to the investigation by the sheriff’s department,
Hobbs Police Chief Ken Bohn ordered an investigation by the Internal
Affairs Unit of the Hobbs PD. The Lea County District Attorney’s Office
was also asked to look into the case. Bohn also announced in a news
release Jan. 21 that he would request a meeting with the U.S.
Department of Justice for a possible review and/or investigation of the
case. Coffman said the sheriff’s department wants to talk to other
witnesses. Officials also want to ensure that witnesses actually saw
what happened and aren’t basing their stories on media reports. [more]
The Hobbs Police Force has a History of Racial Discrimination.
As a result of a class action lawsuit against the Dobbs Police
Department for racial discrimination and police brutality against Black
and Latino residents, the Department has been under court order.[more]On
June 19, 2004 in an opinion highly critical of the Hobbs Police
Department, a federal judge ordered the department to self-monitor its
officers' contacts with racial minorities for another year. [more]
In October Ross Lee Mackey, a Black man, age 26, was arrested and allegedly beaten by Hobbs police officers.
The arresting officer, Rodney Porter had various claims against him for
police brutality. In fact, before working for the Dobbs police force
Porter worked for the Midland (Texas) Police Department. Officer Porter
was forced to resign from the Midland police force after an internal
investigation uncovered evidence of serious misconduct. [more]
Answer to civil suit says Walker put himself in situation leading to death
In an answer filed Monday to the
U.S. District Court lawsuit filed by the widow of Kenneth Walker,
former Muscogee County Deputy Sheriff David Glisson asked for qualified
immunity from the civil suit, cited probable cause for the traffic stop
of the vehicle in which Walker was riding and declared Walker put
himself in the circumstances that led to his death. Glisson's attorney,
Richard Hagler, filed the answer to the suit transferred to the federal
court in December. In that suit, Cheryl Walker seeks $100 million in
damages from Muscogee County, Glisson and Sheriff Ralph Johnson,
alleging all are liable for the wrongful death of Kenneth Walker, who
was shot to death by Glisson on Dec. 10, 2003. The shooting occurred
after a traffic stop on Interstate 185 during a Metro Narcotics Task
Force drug investigation. Among the legal defenses raised in Glisson's
answer is the theory that Cheryl Walker and her daughter are not
entitled to recover damages from Glisson, because he was not the
"proximate cause" of Kenneth Walker's death. The answer states Walker
"... placed himself in the circumstances whereby his accidental death
occurred." There was probable cause to stop the GMC Yukon in which
Walker and three other men were riding, based on evidence and an
informant's information that the people in that vehicle were engaged in
unlawful activity, the answer states. It cites Metro agents'
observation that one of the passengers in the Yukon carried a package
into an alleged drug dealer's apartment while it was under
surveillance, and that all four occupants of the vehicle entered the
apartment where a drug deal had been conducted a short time earlier.
Glisson and other agents conducted the traffic stop based on that
information and a warning that the occupants of the Yukon might be
armed and dangerous, but with no information as to the race of the four
men, according to the answer. [more]
Walker and three of his friends
were heading for a local restaurant on the night of Dec. 10, 2003, when
sheriff's deputies pulled them over on busy Interstate 185. Police said
they were acting on a tip that heavily-armed Miami drug dealers were
making a delivery in Columbus that night and were driving an SUV. The
three surviving men say they were physically pulled out of their Yukon,
thrown on the ground with guns pointed at their heads and not allowed
to ask any questions. The videotape shows all four men prone on the
ground, with no sign of resistance. Suddenly two shots ring out.
Officers then mill around Walker and leave him unattended for two
minutes before anyone attempts first aid. There were no weapons or
drugs found in the car or on Walker or his friends. Glisson first
claimed that he tripped as he put his knee in Walker's back and the
barrel of his semi-automatic machine gun to the back of his head. Later
he said that he fired "instinctively" when he thought Walker's hand
moved toward his pocket. [more] and [more]
World War II Veteran Pepper Sprayed & Beaten after Traffic Stop
Police said they are investigating an incident in which an officer
pepper-sprayed an 85-year-old man during a traffic stop. Leon Nins said
officer Michael Lee also beat him after he took too long to stop his
car. Police deny that and say Nins attacked Lee. Leaders of St. Paul's
NAACP chapter and St. Paul African American Leadership Council alleged
that race was a factor. Nins is black. Nins said at a news conference
Thursday that he was bringing sandwiches and cupcakes to his wife
during his daily visit to her nursing home Dec. 27 when Lee tried to
pull him over for having expired license tabs. Nins, a World War II
veteran who stands about 5-feet-7 and weighs 145 pounds, claims Lee was
angry that he didn't stop his car right away. "I told him, 'If I'd have
seen you, I would have stopped,' Nins said earlier. "He got really mad
about that. He told me to get in his car, and he started beating me on
the leg and on the side of the arm. He pushed me down on the floor, and
he was slamming the door on my legs." "I didn't see him," Nins said
Wednesday. "Even when he pulled up to me, the [police] car wasn't
marked so I didn't know if he was an officer right away." Nins was
arrested and jailed for two days. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office
declined to charge him with a felony, but prosecutors still could bring
a lesser charge. Groups who claim that race played a role cited a 2001
shooting in which Lee was cleared of wrongdoing. Charles Craighead had
taken a gun from a man trying to carjack him. Lee mistook Craighead,
who was black, for the carjacker, and shot him to death. [more] and [more] and [more]
"He was raising his hands, all red and tempered," Nins said. "He took
my bag and threw it into the street." Nins said he confronted Lee,
asking, "What are you doing with my wife's food?" The question seemed
to make Lee more angry, Nins said. Lee then ordered Nins to get into
the squad car. "He told me to get in right now," Nins said. "I told him
that I couldn't move that fast."
Pictured above: Leon Nins, 85, wipes away a tear after he described the
events that led him to accuse a St. Paul police Officer of abuse during
a traffic stop.
African-American leaders demand firing, prosecution of St. Paul police officer. Despite
calls from community leaders for discipline and criminal
charges against the St. Paul police officer accused of beating an
85-year-old man, Police Chief John Harrington says that judging by what
he has seen so far, he is standing behind officer Michael Lee. "If the
evidence continues to come forward as it is right now, I do not
believe he acted brutally. I do not believe that he acted with
excessive force," Harrington said. "I have no intention of either
suspending him or reassigning him to an administrative assignment at
this time." [more]
Cop with Racist Police Brutality Past is the Arresting Officer
Ross Lee Mackey Still Locked Up
On October 4, 2004 Ross Lee Mackey, a
Black man, age 26, was arrested and allegedly beaten by Hobbs police
officers (New Mexico). Detectives Carter and Rodney Porter went
to Mackey's house to question him about his whereabouts during a
shooting that had taken place in the neighborhood. After a brief
interrogation in front of his mother's house, the police announced that
they would be back later that day to arrest him. Specifically Detective
Carter asked him where he was when a homicide occurred and whether he
knew what happened. Mackey responded that he was in the street when he
heard four gun shots fired and that he fell to the ground for safety.
At that point in the interrogation, Detective Porter allegedly
interrupted Mackey and said "I don't have to listen to this crap. We
will be back for your arrest". When the officers returned later that
day, they slammed him to the ground head first, kneed him in the back
and stepped on his neck. Police held him in this position for at least
30 minutes. According to Mackey and witnesses Mackey did not resist
arrest and he had voluntarily submitted himself to the police. When
Mackey asked police why they were doing this Detective Porter said
"you're a drug dealer." As this police beating was taking place a
truckload of men wearing black masks raided his family's house with
their weapons drawn. According to Mackey, the Hobbs
police never produced a search warrant and never identified themselves
as police. [FULL story]
Arresting Officer has a History of Police Brutality Claims Against him. One of the arresting officers, Detective Rodney Porter is no stranger to police brutality or racial discrimination claims.
On August 24, 2004 a court
awarded Jimmie Marshall, a 58 year old Black man $580,000 for police
brutality claims he brought against Porter and the City of Hobbs.
Before working for the Dobbs
police force Porter worked for the Midland (Texas) Police Department.
Officer Porter was forced to resign from the Midland police force after
an internal investigation uncovered evidence of serious misconduct.
Midland documents provide evidence that in more than thirty cases,
Officer Porter falsely charged arrestees with possession of narcotics,
seriously mishandled narcotics evidence, or both. These criminal cases
largely targeted Black and Hispanic suspects.
Hobbs Police Force Under Court
Order for Brutality. A 1999 class action lawsuit found that Blacks were
subjected to excessive force, warrantless searches and false charges.
As a result the Department is under court order.Hobbs Police Force
still Under Court Order for Brutality.
While blacks make up about 7
percent of Hobbs residents, they represent on average 15 percent of
those subjected to field interviews by Hobbs police, more than 16
percent of those arrested, and more than 21 percent of those arrested
for resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.
In addition,
Hispanics and blacks make up over 77 percent of those arrested for
resisting, evading or obstructing an officer a charge the ACLU says is
highly discretionary and often grows out of an overreaction to a
citizen's lawful verbal challenge to an officer's authority. [more]
Black Man Gets $580,000 in Hobbs Police Brutality Case - Took Blood Sample Without Consent [more]
2 Views Of Hobbs Officer Given - Racist Cop says he has ADD [more]
Hobbs Police Not Off Hook: Judge Orders Department to Self-Monitor for Racial Discrimination [more
State Police officer Sean Wallace-- who is being sued on claims of using
excessive force in a separate case-- fired the shot that killed a
44-year-old Chimayó man Sept. 22, according to a tort claim notice. The
notice, filed Dec. 20 by Santa Fe attorney Robert R. Rothstein, warns
the state Department of Public Safety, State Police and several of the
agencies' employees that a wrongful-death lawsuit is imminent. Leo
Lopez was fatally shot in his pickup after he tried to back his vehicle
into officers, police say. State Police completed
its investigation into the shooting and turned the case over to the
office of Santa Fe District Attorney Henry Valdez. Valdez has said the
case will be presented to a grand jury to determine whether the
shooting was justified. The tort claim notice, submitted to DPS
Secretary John Denko, State Police Chief Carlos Maldonado and the state
Risk Management Division, alleges Wallace and other officers created an
unnecessary confrontation, then fatally shot Lopez in the back while he
sat in the cab of his pickup. "Our preliminary investigation
leads us to conclude there was absolutely no legitimate law enforcement
justification for the use of any force, and especially not deadly
force, against Mr. Lopez," Rothstein states in the notice. "At the time
of the shooting, Mr. Lopez was unarmed, was not actively resisting
arrest, and had not committed any criminal offenses." [more] and [more]
A teenager died after he was zapped with a Taser gun and doused with a
substance similar to pepper spray during a fight with Collier County
sheriff's deputies, officials said. Christopher Hernandez, 19, of Fort
Myers, was the third suspect to die in Florida this month after being
subdued with a Taser gun. Hernandez died Tuesday, several hours after
officials say he attacked deputies, kicking and ripping their uniforms.
He ignored orders to stop. Hernandez, who had no local criminal record,
was taken for treatment at Naples Community Hospital for a cut above
his eye, but Collier County sheriff's spokesman Dennis Huff said there
had been no indication that Hernandez' wounds were life-threatening. An
autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death. But
Hernandez's relatives say he was badly beaten. They said that when they
saw him at the emergency room his head was swollen, his eyes were
"blood red" and his arms and face had road rash. Blood from somewhere
on his head stained the hospital pillow. "He was beaten unnecessarily,"
said his uncle, Xavier Hernandez. Hernandez's father, Jose Hernandez,
said he rushed to the hospital and talked to his son about what
happened, but he wouldn't say what his son said. His son was then taken
to the intensive care unit and died about an hour later. Police used CapStun, similar to pepper spray, and a Taser stun
gun, which inflicts a shock, in an attempt to subdue him, but several
minutes passed before he was handcuffed, they said. [more] and [more] and [more]
New Black Panther Party, Family demand civilian panel review of fatal shooting
The family of a young man fatally shot
by an off-duty police officer
outside a Burger King restaurant on Christmas morning is demanding that
a civilian review board be appointed to investigate. Brian Fillmore's
mother, sister and niece gathered Tuesday with two dozen supporters
from the New Black Panther Party and other groups outside the fast-food
restaurant on Lyons Avenue where Fillmore, 20, of Newark, died of a
single gunshot wound at about 2 a.m. Saturday. "This was a young man
just waiting for a Big Mac and fries or something when he got shot by a
renegade cop," said Zayid Muhammad, a spokesman for the New Black
Panther Party's Greater New York-New Jersey Chapter. "This was a good
man in commission of no crime, posing no threat to anyone," Muhammad
said. "This happened because someone was trying to play cowboys and
Indians on Christmas night." Police said the officer fired one shot
because he
feared for his life after the man drove toward him and ran over his
right foot. Carolyn Wright, an assistant Essex County prosecutor, said
that, as in any fatal shooting involving police, the case would be
presented to a grand jury to determine whether the officer acted
properly. "The matter is under investigation," said Wright, who
declined to identify the officer. "Beyond that, I won't comment on any
of the specifics of how this incident occurred." A Burger King official
said the off-duty officer had been working as a security guard at the
restaurant. An ordinance creating a civilian police review board was
approved by the Irvington City Council about three years ago. [more] and [more]
Rally protests fatal shooting by police of unarmed man [more]
A man shot and killed last Monday by police in a Mira Loma neighborhood
carried a handgun and refused repeated orders by authorities to stop,
police said. "He had a weapon," Riverside sheriff's Sgt. Earl Quinata
said, adding that officers ordered the 26-year-old landscaper several
times to surrender peacefully. "They took every measure to ensure this
individual stopped. He brandished a weapon at us." Family members and
witnesses disagree and say Robert Mendoza was fearful about going back
to prison and was carrying a cell phone and not a handgun. They also
questioned the number of shots fired - as many as 50 according to one
nearby witness. "He was running because he was fearful for his life,"
Mendoza's older brother, Daniel, said Tuesday. "He was running with a
cell phone talking with his girlfriend."One resident in the 10600 block
of 58th Street said he was surprised nobody else was hit and wondered
why so many officers fired what he called an excessive amount of
bullets, "over 40 or 50 shots, easily," said Jesse Ibarra, 21. "We were
just chilling and they're supposed to protect and to serve and they're
putting these cats in the line of fire," said Ibarra, 21, pointing at
the neighborhood children. "It sounded like a fire fight, like a war
zone." Eight officers from various agencies fired weapons at Mendoza.
Quinata did not release information about how many times bullets struck
Mendoza. [more] and [more]
Handcuffed Black Man, Marshall Galloway Pepper Sprayed & Put in Lengthy Chokehold
Civil-rights activists gathered outside Louisville Metro Police
headquarters yesterday to call for a civilian review board in the wake
of an internal investigation that cleared an officer accused of
excessive force. The Rev. Louis Coleman contended that a videotape of
the Nov. 30, 2003, arrest of Marshall Galloway clearly showed Officer
Harry Cambron using excessive force when he repeatedly pepper-sprayed
Galloway and held him in a lengthy chokehold after he was handcuffed.
The decision to exonerate Cambron of using excessive force but
reprimand him for cursing Galloway was another example of a police
department incapable of monitoring itself, Coleman and a half-dozen
other activists told reporters. "I don't understand how, with the
videotape to go on, this came down the way it did," said Tom Moffett, a
member of the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political
Repression. "It blows my mind that we accept this as a community and a
nation. We have to get over this idea that the police can police
themselves." On Wednesday, Police Chief Robert White said that Cambron
could have handled the arrest better but that the officer had to use
force because Galloway was resisting. Cambron was ordered to undergo
counseling and additional training on arrest techniques. That did not
satisfy civil-rights activists, who said more training is always the
answer from police. "How much training does a police office need to
know how to treat another human being?" the Rev. Milton Seymore asked. [more]
Witnesses: Black Man had hands Up when Killed by Police
The mother and daughters of a disabled Oakland man killed by San
Francisco police officers in May have filed a wrongful death lawsuit
against the city in federal court in San Francisco. Cammerin Boyd, 29,
was fatally shot by police on May 5 in the Western Addition area of the
city after a chase by police who suspected him of threatening to kidnap
a woman at gunpoint. In addition to the city, the lawsuit names as
defendants the five officers who pursued Boyd and allegedly fired at
him. The civil rights lawsuit was filed Monday by Boyd's mother,
Marylon Boyd of Oakland, and his two daughters. It includes claims of
wrongful death, unreasonable use of deadly force and discrimination
against a disabled person. Boyd's legs were amputated below the legs.
The city is accused in the lawsuit of failing to train officers to
avoid excessive force and failing to train them in how to detain
individuals with physical disabilities. The lawsuit seeks financial
compensation in an amount to be determined at a jury trial. Police said
last May that Boyd had fired at the pursuing officers and appeared to
be reaching under his seat when he was shot. Some witnesses have said
he appeared to be trying to surrender. An autopsy report released in
September said he may have had his hands up when he was shot, but the
report did not reach a conclusion. [more] and [more]
18 Year Old Gerald Bernales has Permanent Brain damage
Received a $2 million
settlement in 2003
The federal Justice Department won't pursue criminal charges against
the sheriff's deputies who arrested Gerald Bernales in February 2001,
finding they did not violate his civil rights when they used force
while taking him into custody at what was then his home in Los Osos.
The Sheriff's Department was told of the agency's conclusion in a
letter dated Nov. 30. That correspondence was received in the last few
weeks. It came more than 16 months after Sheriff Pat Hedges requested
that the FBI review the Bernales case to determine whether deputies
acted properly. "This was a truly independent investigation that
supports what I've been saying, and the deputies have been saying,
since the inception," Hedges said. Bernales received a $2 million
settlement in 2003 after claiming that the arrest left him with
permanent brain damage.
Basile said he was not surprised by the results of the review because
the alleged civil rights violations must be proved beyond a reasonable
doubt. Early in the morning of the day he was arrested, the then
18-year-old Bernales failed to yield to a traffic stop by deputies
Robert Burgeson and David Goodwin. They reportedly observed him driving
10 mph over the 35-mph speed limit along Los Osos Valley Road. Video
shot from the deputies' patrol car shows Bernales' vehicle slowing down
along the road's shoulder, then re-entering the road and gaining speed.
[more]
Justice Department Refuses to Pursue Charges Against Police
Two years later, Michael Hickenbottom Sr. still wants justice.
Hickenbottom said he learned from the media that U.S. Attorney Mary
Beth Buchanan decided this month not to pursue charges against the two
state police officers involved in the Dec. 24, 2002, shooting death of
his 12-year-old son, Michael Ellerbe. Joined by about 30 supporters on
a frigid Friday afternoon, Hickenbottom and demonstrators from People
Against Police Violence held a vigil outside the Fayette County
Courthouse in Uniontown. "I want justice," Hickenbottom said outside
the building, which was closed for the holiday. "That's why we're in
front of the courthouse. We want justice. That's all." Michael was shot
in the back at 2:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve 2002 as he ran through a
Uniontown alley after fleeing from a vehicle that was reported stolen.
Troopers Samuel Nassan and Juan Curry had said Michael ignored their
commands to stop and take his hands out of his pockets. Curry told a
Fayette County coroner's jury that his gun accidentally discharged as
he climbed a fence and fell. Hearing the shot and seeing Curry fall,
Nassan testified that he believed Michael had shot his partner. Nassan
then shot the boy, according to testimony. Michael was unarmed. No
charges were recommended by the coroner's jury at the January 2003
inquest, and Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon did not
charge either officer. Buchanan announced on Dec. 13 that no federal
charges would be filed, either. A civil lawsuit against Curry and
Nassan is pending in U.S. District Court, Western District of
Pennsylvania. No trial date has been set. [more]
When police shot and killed a mentally ill man armed
with a knife last week, they did so with the belief that he was a
serious threat. "He wasn't going to a turkey carving contest with three
knives on him," police union president Sgt. Louis Cavalier said in the
wake of the shooting. "We will defend ourselves and others from deadly
force and if it means killing someone, that's what we have to do." But
the members of Fellowship Place, a residential facility for the
mentally disabled, contend that resident Hiram Marrero was deep in the
throes of a psychotic episode and did not pose a threat to officers.
"Why did they shoot to kill?" says staff member Bob Hurd. "When they
get this kind of call, they should automatically know they are dealing
with something other than what they encounter on the street." Marrero's
death is the third incident in two months in which police have fired
their weapons under what community activists are calling questionable
circumstances. Police Chief Francisco Ortiz calls 2004's eight police
shooting incidents "unprecedented" and has promised to review each case
with an eye towards protocol reform. Zachary Schatz, a friend of
Marrero's, is circulating a petition demanding that the department
prohibit the use of deadly force against the mentally ill. [more]
Three police officers who returned fire when a suspected car
thief shot at them during a chase have been cleared by a Multnomah
County grand jury. William T. Grigsby, 24, was killed Dec. 2 when he
fired six shots at police after running from a stolen pickup he had
crashed following a wild chase through neighborhood streets. Two of the
three police officers were wounded. Grigsby was running from
police after crashing a stolen pickup when Steinbronn tried to stop him
with his Taser. The officer fired the Taser at the man from a distance
of 15 feet. Grigsby dropped to his hands and knees and then pulled out
a .25-caliber pistol, spun around and fired six shots at the
police. The three officers returned fire, hitting Grigsby 13
times. Grigsby, still conscious, refused to put his hands up, move away
from his gun and even reportedly flipped police off. Other officers
fired three more Taser shots and 22 beanbag rounds at Grigsby before he
was pronounced dead. [more] and [more]
The already embattled Jacksonville
Sheriff's Office is facing another
accusation of brutality. A man said he was battered and abused by JSO
officers on Christmas Eve. Phillip Edwards plans to file a formal
complaint with the JSO after he said he suffered a broken wrist and
torn ligaments when police beat him up. Edwards said he was sitting
inside a friend's car in the parking lot of a nightclub when police
officers asked him to leave. When he refused, he said officers dragged
him out of the car and got violent. "I was pulled out of my vehicle,
slammed to the ground, wrongly treated by the Jacksonville Sheriff's
Office," he said. Edwards said he locked his keys in his car, and when
police asked him to leave the area, he said he couldn't. "I told him my
keys were locked in car. He said, 'I don't care,'" Edwards said.
According to the police report, Edwards was aggressive and told the
officer, "Come over here and tell me that." Edwards said that isn't
true. He has no record and has never been in trouble with the law
before. He said the officer stepped towards him as he was sitting
inside of his friend's car. "He pulled me from the vehicle for no
reason at all -- didn't ask me to step out of the vehicle at all,"
Edwards said. "He twisted my arm to the point it was severely injured,
kneed me in my back, then pulled my hair." Edwards said the officer
bragged to other officers, "I'm taking his dumb a** to jail." "It's one
of those things you can't believe until it starts happening,"
Edwards said. "I'm trying to keep it from happening to somebody else." [more]
About 200 marchers chanting "No justice, no peace," made their way
through downtown Saturday to protest police brutality and the deaths of
two black men who died last month in police custody. In an hour-long
rally on the steps of the police building, the marchers heard speeches
from U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, state and local NAACP leaders, and
ministers decrying the deaths and pushing for the creation of a
citizens review board to look into look into police violence. "We will
get justice, the walls of police brutality are coming down," said
Shanika Carter, daughter of Sammie Lee Evans, 49, who died from a
broken neck as police attempted to arrest him on Dec. 3 for drinking
outside his home. Kaleb Underwood, a white rookie officer who pushed
Evans to the ground while trying to handcuff him, resigned from the
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office after internal affairs investigators
found he used excessive force in another unrelated incident. The other
custody death involved Ezra Jones, 29, who died while immobilized in
restraints at the Duval County Jail. Jones, who was homeless, was
arrested Dec. 5, for blocking a public sidewalk. "This police
department is out of control," said Adora Obi Nweze, state NAACP
president. "These are not killings by law enforcement officers, these
are murders." On Saturday, Sheriff John Rutherford said in a statement
that the county medical examiner's office found Jones died of a heart
attack from cocaine use and the stress of the restraint chair. After receiving a request by Rutherford,
both the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office are investigating the
deaths to determine if their civil rights were violated when they were
taken into custody. [more]
Prince George's County has agreed to pay $3.5 million to the families
of three women killed when a driver being pursued by county police
crashed into their vehicle in 2002. The out-of-court settlement ended a
civil suit brought in D.C. Superior Court by their survivors. The money
will be shared by eight children of the three dead women. Michelle Rene
Brown, 27, Lashawn Dennise Willis, 30, and Tabitha White, 19, were
killed about 5:40 a.m. June 30, 2002, when their Nissan Maxima was
broadsided by a 1994 Chevrolet Caprice at 58th Street and Nannie Helen
Burroughs Avenue NE. The driver of the Caprice was being pursued into
the District by Prince George's police because the car matched the
description of one used in a shooting that morning in Fairmount
Heights. The chase lasted four blocks before the Caprice struck the
Maxima, police said. The driver of the Caprice, whose face had been
obscured by the car's tinted windows, ran off and never has been
identified. [more] and [more
