Family of 8-year-old Latino Boy Killed in Police Car Chase to Receive $1.25 Million

The city of Tucson has quietly agreed to pay $1.25 million to the family of an 8-year-old boy who died after a traffic crash that occurred when a police officer ran a red light. A Tucson Police Department inquiry found the officer ran the light while on an emergency call and collided with a small SUV, fatally injuring Jordan Horn Rodriguez in 2003. On a motion by Councilwoman Carol West, the council Tuesday voted in public to have its attorney "proceed as discussed" earlier that day in a closed-door executive session on the lawsuit. The council did not disclose that a settlement had been reached, much less the payment amount. West confirmed the settlement amount when contacted by a reporter Saturday. The motion passed unanimously, with Councilman Fred Ronstadt away on city business. The payment exceeds a $1 million settlement paid in 2001 to a man shot by police, which at that time was the largest single claim paid by the city since it became self-insured in 1986. Officer Justin Lane, who was a three-year Tucson police officer at the time of the traffic wreck, served a 40-hour disciplinary suspension last year after police determined he should have used greater care and slowed appropriately as he drove south on North Oracle Road near West Glenn Street on Nov. 29, 2003. Attorneys Richard Grand and Michael Meehan filed the lawsuit last year against the city on behalf of the boy's parents, Shannon Horn and Luis Rodriguez, and his sister, Tiffany Rodriguez, who were with him in the Geo Tracker when the collision occurred. Meehan, reached Saturday, said the family is relieved that that the matter is concluded. [more]

3 of 10 Milwaukee Police Officers Turn Themselves In Frank Jude Brutal Beating - Race at Issue

Three Milwaukee police officers were criminally charged Monday with the severe beating of Frank Jude Jr. outside a party in Bay View last October. Jon Bartlett was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety and substantial battery. Andrew Spengler was charged with substantial battery and Daniel Masarik was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety and perjury. All three men turned themselves in Monday afternoon and are all out of jail on a signature bond.  According to the criminal charges, Jude and three other people were at a house party in Bay View at a police officer's house when Jude was accused of taking a police badge and wallet. Witnesses said when the group tried to leave, up to 10 off-duty officers surrounded the car and pulled Jude out. The witnesses said the men searched Jude and when they didn't find the wallet, they started beating him. According to one of the first on-duty police officers to arrive at the scene, she "... saw defendant Bartlett put a knife to Jude's neck and say, 'Where's the -- badge? I'm going to kill you if you don't give it up.'" She said she heard someone handcuff Jude and then saw Bartlett "...get up and begin kicking Jude in the head." McCann said depending on how much more cooperation they get, and how bad Jude's injuries end up being, there could be more charges.  McCann has been criticized heavily the last few weeks by some who say that he was dragging his feet on this case. He said, considering the lack of cooperation he got from some of the off-duty officers at the party, he did the best he could. But there are still more people he would like to interview. Milwaukee Police Chief Nannette Hegerty released a statement that said the department will continue with its internal investigation into the event that took place.  All three officers are scheduled to be back in court for preliminary hearings March 16. A fourth officer was suspended after the beating, but he was not charged. [more]

• Pictured above: Frank Jude before and after Racist cops beat him down.
  

WEAK Prosecutor TIMID About Using Hate Crime Law
In explaining his choice not to pursue Hate Crimes claims against police, Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann said the hate-crime law applies only when perpetrators target their victims specifically because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic background or some other trait. "To anyone who reviews the whole police file, it is very clear these victims were selected because they were suspected in stealing a (police officer's) badge," McCann said. "If they had been white, black or red - if there had been two white men involved - the same thing would have happened." Jude denies taking a badge, and none was found on him. The criminal complaint charging police officers Jon Bartlett, Andrew Spengler and Daniel Masarik says Spengler, who was hosting a party at his Bay View home, suspected Jude of taking his badge, and that Jude shortly thereafter was pulled from a pickup truck, savagely beaten and stripped. The complaint cites accounts of 12 witnesses, but none mentions racial taunting or slurs.   To McCann, the motive seems plausible enough to undercut the idea that Jude was beaten for being black. "You don't use the enhancer just because the person who committed the crime has demonstrated they can be a bigot," said Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard, who has used the statute several times. "Any time a prosecutor includes a charge or an enhancer that you cannot prove very well, the jury starts to wonder, 'If the state will make that weak an argument on that point, does that mean everything they present is weak?' "Wisconsin's hate-crimes law, which has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, can add up to five years to the prison sentence imposed for a felony, one or two year to misdemeanors, and upgrades some misdemeanor offenses to felonies. [more]

• Milwaukee beating victim troubled by nightmares [more]
• Jude case sheds light on Griffin beating [more]
• Pictured above: Milwaukee Officers: Jon Bartlett, Andrew Spengler and Daniel Masarik

Undisclosed Settlement Reached for 14 Year Old Disabled Black boy beaten by Inglewood Police on Video Tape

The family of a 16-year-old boy who was videotaped being beaten by police officers - a scandal which shocked the world - has agreed to settle a federal civil rights case for an undisclosed sum, a lawyer for Inglewood city said yesterday. In the bystander's video the handcuffed Donovan Jackson, who is black, is seen being punched in the head by a white officer. He is then slammed into a patrol car. The incident in 2002 was resonant of the Rodney King beating by Los Angeles police officers 14 years ago. The city and Los Angeles county did not admit any wrongdoing in the tentative agreement, Albert DeBlanc said. The family's lawyer could not be reached for comment yesterday. Donovan, who suffers from hearing, speech and learning difficulties, was returning to his car after paying for petrol when the officers told him to drop the crisps he was eating and put his hands on the car. A young white DJ staying at a hotel nearby heard the commotion and ran outside to record the beating. It was broadcast around the world. The officer, Jeremy Morse said he had reacted forcefully after Jackson grabbed his testicles during an arrest at a petrol station. The videotape did not show whether any grabbing occurred. Mr Morse was sacked and his one-time partner Bijan Darvish was suspended for 10 days for filing a report which allegedly failed to mention Mr Morse's conduct. A judge dismissed a criminal charge of assault against Mr Morse after two juries failed to reach a verdict. In January a jury awarded $1.6m to Mr Morse and $811,000 to Mr Darvish, who sued Inglewood for discrimination, arguing that a black officer who allegedly hit Jackson with a flashlight received a lesser punishment. [more]

LAPD Officers Cleared in 2003 Shootings of 2 Black Men

A police commission cleared three detectives of wrongdoing in the fatal shootings of two robbery suspects, though an investigation found the suspects were not armed. The report will be sent to the department for a decision on possible disciplinary action. The district attorney's office, which investigates all police shootings, has not yet decided whether to file criminal charges, said spokeswoman Jane Robison. Police Chief William Bratton said he supported the commission findings. ``I have determined that the detectives reasonably believed the suspects presented an immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death,'' he told the Los Angeles Times. The commission, an administrative panel that governs police conduct, cleared detectives Robert Kraus, Christopher Brazzill and Anthony Avila of wrongdoing in the September 2003 shootings of David Thomas, 19, and Byron Smith, 20. The detectives maintained they opened fire because Thomas and Smith and another suspect, Steve Hunnicutt, were armed. Hunnicutt's attorney said the men did not have a gun at the scene. The commission report, released this week, said no handguns were found in the possession of the three suspects and none of the suspects had gunshot residue on their hands. After the shootings, a handgun was found in a getaway car, and the third suspect and a fourth man were charged with assault on police officers. [more] and [more]

• Gun Not Found in LAPD Shooting [more]
  

NO Justice for Zongo: Mistrial Declared in FATAL Police Shooting of African Man by NYPD

A mistrial was declared Monday at the manslaughter trial of an undercover police officer who shot unarmed art restorer Ousmane Zongo in a Manhattan warehouse. "After careful and considerable deliberations, we, the jury, cannot reach a unanimous verdict," said the note read by state Supreme Court Justice Daniel FitzGerald. "We have thoroughly examined the facts and charges and no further deliberations will resolve our differences." Officer Brian Conroy was tried for the May 22, 2003, killing of Zongo, a married father of two from West Africa who worked in the warehouse. Conroy, 25, would have faced up to 15 years in prison if he had been convicted. The courtroom was packed with uniformed police officers, behind the defense table, and supporters of the Zongos, behind the prosecution table. When the judge asked the jurors if they were sure, they all nodded in agreement, some closing their eyes; he reassured them that some issues are not easily resolved. The judge ordered all the parties back to court on April 7 for motions and discussion of a probable retrial. Zongo's wife, Salimata Sanfo, said later through an interpreter that she has confidence in God and the jury system, and she believes truth and justice will be served in the near future. Sanfo has no ill feelings toward police in general - only against Conroy, because "he is a killer," she said through the interpreter. The trial was the first involving a city police officer in a fatal shooting since Amadou Diallo was infamously gunned down in the Bronx six years ago - a case that also involved an unarmed West African immigrant. [more]
and [more]

• Pictured above: Al Sharpton with widow Salimata Sanfo at a press conference before the verdict was rendered.
  

San Diego to pay $975K to Latino Man in Fatal Police Shooting

The city of San Diego agreed to pay $975,000 to the family of a mentally disturbed man shot to death by police three years ago, it was reported today. The agreement, which is not covered by insurance, sets aside a nearly $900,000 federal jury award against the city and prevents the family's lawyer from seeking additional attorney's fees or punitive damages, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Alejandro Jimenez, 24, of El Cajon was shot 31 times after fighting with officers in a Midway area strip mall parking lot March 22, 2002. On Monday, jurors found that officers were negligent in the fatal shooting, the newspaper reported. Jurors found that a sergeant who shot Jimenez with a beanbag shotgun used excessive force – the standard for civil rights violations – but the fatal shooting did not constitute excessive force, the Union-Tribune reported. Those findings were dismissed as part of the settlement reached Tuesday. "There will be no judgement against the officers," City Attorney Michael Aguirre told the newspaper. "There will be no judgement against the city." To become final, the agreement must be approved by the City Council, which is scheduled to consider it next Monday, Aguirre told the Union-Tribune. The city is self-insured and – if approved – the settlement will be paid out of a liability fund, city officials told the newspaper. [more]

Testimony wraps up in civil suit over Knoxville police shooting of Black Man

• Mother says son holding cell phone, not gun, when KPD officer shot him
  

Testimony wrapped up Monday in the trial for a family's civil lawsuit against the city of Knoxville over a police shooting. The family of Sean Gillispie filed the suit. Gillispie, 19, was shot by Officer Jason Keck during an incident at a Weigel's in May 2003. Gillispie was in the back seat of a car parked at the store. He died at UT Medical Center. Monday morning, a law enforcement expert testified as well as the two officers who were involved in the shooting. Officer Keck testified that he shot Gillispie because he felt he was in imminent danger. Keck said he saw Gillispie fumbling with what he thought was a gun. The city's attorneys brought in a captain from the Chattanooga Police Department who said he's an expert in the use of force by police. He testified that he reviewed the case and felt Keck's actions were justified. The family says that although there was a gun in the back seat next to Gillispie, he was reaching for his cell phone. They say he never would have harmed anyone. Family members and their friends have packed the court room and say they've waited nearly two years for time in court. "We're very numb," says Gillispie's aunt, Desiree Wallace. "We're hurting all over...to hear Keck say the words that he meant to shoot him, I think it just brought up a lot of old memories that have been instilled within us. We're just trying to get through it." His grandmother, Janet Gillespie, says, "What makes the police force above the citizens? You understand what I'm trying to say? Sean was 19-years-old. He had everything to look forward to. He's gone." The family's attorney told the judge he believed Gillispie also was negligent but the officers' negligence outweighed that. The DA's office cleared Keck of any wrongdoing in September 2003.[more] and  [more]

Settlement Paid in Corpus Christi Police Shooting of Latino Man City -- $200,000 to victim's kin

• Paul Silvas was Beaten, Sprayed and Shot &  Killed by Police
  

City Council members agreed Tuesday to settle a lawsuit that arose out of the 2003 police shooting death of Paul Silvas. City Hall previously had denied any wrongdoing in Silvas' death, but council members voted 8-0 to pay Silvas' family $200,000 and settle the case before it goes to trial. Councilman Brent Chesney was absent. Deborah Golder, Silvas' common-law wife, would not comment about the settlement. In a written statement, city officials said they decided to settle the case because of "the potential cost of extended litigation, uncertainty of a jury trial and an inevitable appeal." Police officers Jason Lavastida and Donald Moore shot and killed Silvas, 27, on Oct. 23, 2003, outside of the Times Market at 4701 Greenwood Drive. Silvas' family said he cooperated with police and died unnecessarily. The officers said the deadly shooting was in self-defense. Lavastida and Moore, both bicycle officers, said they smelled marijuana coming from Silvas' parked teal four-door Ford Taurus, according to a statement by Police Chief Pete Alvarez after the shooting. The officers ordered Silvas out of the car, according to reports. The family's lawyer, Luis Cardenas, denied marijuana was being smoked. Silvas' family said police proceeded to beat him with batons and spray him with pepper spray when he sought safety in his car.Paul Silvas did not appear to be trying to run over two bicycle police officers, but tried to drive away when they began to shoot at him, a witness said."They already beat him with batons, sprayed him with pepper spray and he just kept telling them to leave him alone," said Adriana Trevino, 18. "He wasn't trying to run over them." Trevino watched Paul Silvas go outside after buying cigarettes, where he used the pay telephone and then got into his car, she said. "The cops got him out of the car and started hitting him with batons," Trevino said. "He just kept yelling 'leave me alone, leave me alone.'" She said after being hit repeatedly in the head and body, Silvas got away from police, slid back into his car and was trying to start the engine when one officer started spraying him with pepper spray and hitting him more with a baton. "Paul backed up and stopped because one of the officers was behind him," Trevino said. "The other one kept hitting him, then pulled a gun, and they both started saying they were going to shoot." [more] and [more] and [more]

5 officers facing internal charges in Death of Black Man Tasered by Cops

Five Toledo police officers including a sergeant are facing administrative charges for improperly handcuffing a man who died after he was shocked nine times with a Taser. Police and Lucas County jail authorities were involved in the incidents. The police department's internal affairs bureau concluded the officers did not use excessive force in the arrest Jan. 31 of Jeffrey Turner, 41, and that the use of a Taser at the time of his arrest was justified, Chief Mike Navarre said yesterday. However, the investigation showed that in transporting Turner to the jail, he was handcuffed behind his back and those cuffs were connected to oversized cuffs that were placed on his ankles, which is contrary to department policy. Chief Navarre said video from the Toledo Museum of Art, where the arrest occurred, showed Turner kneeling with his hands cuffed behind his back, another set of cuffs on his ankles, and a third set of cuffs connecting the other two sets.  Turner died after he was shocked five times by police and four times by jail correction officers in incidents that occurred about three hours apart. Police approached Turner outside the museum after security there reported a suspicious man loitering outside the closed museum for more than 40 minutes. Officers said they used a Taser to subdue him after he refused to cooperate and fought being taken into custody. After he was carried into the jail, Turner was booked and ate a lunch before becoming agitated again. He refused attempts to restrain him, and corrections officers shocked him with a Taser. A nurse sent to Turner's cell, as a matter of procedure to check on him after the stun gun's use, discovered he was unresponsive. He died a short time later. [more]

Pahokee police chief resigns over police beating of Black Man

Pahokee Police Chief Rafael Duran resigned on Wednesday amid allegations that his officers beat and hospitalized a man who has been in an ongoing feud with police. Robert Love, 48, was a frequent nuisance to police. At crime scenes, Love would sometimes show up and taunt officers, tell witnesses not to talk to them and videotape them at work. It's unclear what sparked his alleged beating on Friday. The city manager and vice mayor stumbled upon three officers beating Lowe on Friday. The two were driving through town after having dinner, Mayor J.P. Sasser said. When the city officials got out of the car and identified themselves, the officers told them to leave and threatened to arrest them for interfering with a police investigation, Sasser said. The two officials immediately went to Sasser's home, and the three of them returned to the scene. But the Pahokee police officers, accompanied by two Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies, again threatened the city officials with arrest if they did not leave. The beating was "so vicious'' that Love was hospitalized, Sasser said. Duran, a former patrol deputy, took over as chief in the summer of 2003. His family had moved from Cuba to the small town in 1960. Duran lost a bid for Palm Beach County Sheriff in 2000. He could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Detective Calipto Gonzalez is temporarily filling in as chief. Sasser said the Sheriff's Office internal affairs division is investigating because he doesn't have confidence in his department to investigate the incident. He said he is also going to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the Police Department. "I can't believe this happened,'' Sasser said. ``The last time I checked, the American flag was flying atop City Hall.'' [more] 

Black Man Dies In Police Custody After Being Shot With Taser - Police Stopped the Wrong Man

Two DeLand police officers are off the job after a man they were trying to arrest died in custody. Willie Michael Towns died shortly after he was shot with a taser during a struggle with the officers. The ironic part of this story is, Towns wasn't even the man the police were looking for. DeLand police were looking for a burglary suspect named Mike. They saw Towns and he fit the description, but he was not the man they were looking for. Police approached him on Woodland Boulevard to ask him some questions. For some reason, he took off. Police didn't even bother with pursuit. But then Towns was spotted on the roof of a building. Police say they had no choice but to chase him then. The suspect jumped from the roof to a metal awning. He was going to try to jump to the ground, but decided to break a window and go inside the building, according to the police report. Two officers tackled Towns who, they say, tried repeatedly to jump out the second floor window. They also tasered him three times, with apparently no effect. Towns later admitted doing cocaine that day. Officers finally subdued Towns, strapped him to a board and put him in an ambulance where, the report says, he began fighting with paramedics, then suddenly stopped. Towns was dead. Once again, police are left wondering why this happened. The autopsy report will be out Tuesday. [more]

Family sues Denver -- Police Shot Latino Man 20 Times

The family of a man shot to death by Denver police two years ago outside a bar on Federal Boulevard has sued the city and three police officers for excessive and deadly force. According to the complaint filed last week in federal court, police shot Luis Almeida-Ponce 20 times as he exited the Tequila LeClub, 5115 Federal Blvd., early on March 7, 2003. The complaint claims that officers Randy Murr, Joseph Trujillo and William Carr fired 27 rounds at Almeida-Ponce, killing the 24-year-old. The police report stated that the officers had responded to a call nearby, then were flagged down by a woman who said there was a fight in the club involving a man with a gun. Police said Almeida-Ponce came out of the club with a handgun in his waistband. As officers asked him to drop the gun and raise his hands, he started firing at officers, police said. The suit, filed by attorney Daniel Genet, says that Almeida-Ponce was not armed, was not threatening anyone and was killed without justification. The suit also states that the city inadequately trains and supervises police officers, that police fail to use less lethal alternatives and that officers have a "shoot first" policy, particularly in minority neighborhoods. [more]

NY Metro Police Officer pleads guilty in beating of Black homeless man

A former Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officer has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge related to his beating of a homeless man he threw out of Penn Station. Prosecutors said they had videotape of the incident. Michael Koenig, 34, admitted that he hit Maurice Cherry, 35, in the head before ejecting him from the station around 3 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2004. State Supreme Court Justice James Yates sentenced Koenig to perform 200 hours of community service. Koenig, who has resigned from the MTA police after four years with the department, and Sgt. Joseph Camean, 32, were arrested last August. Koenig was charged with felony assault and Camean, a seven-year MTA police veteran, was accused of failing to report the beating. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Heffner said at the time that Cherry mouthed off to Koenig, who hit him in the head with a metal baton. "There was absolutely no justification for this assault, according to witnesses," Heffner said then. "He (Cherry) went into the fetal position when Koening was hitting him. There is videotape evidence in this case." Witnesses reported the incident to Amtrak police, who told both Camean and other MTA officials, Heffner said. He said the MTA's police internal affairs bureau and the district attorney's office investigated the reports. Camean, who was suspended without pay, has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records and official misconduct, which are still pending. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.[more]

• For More Police Brutality News 3/10/05 Scroll Down
  

Hanging death of Black Man was suicide, GBI concludes

The conclusion that Bernard C. Burden's family and friends had hoped state investigators would not reach regarding his hanging death last October is now official. Suicide. The ruling by Kris Sperry, chief medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, answers questions that have been swirling around Grantville since Oct. 13, when Burden was found hanging from a tree, his feet inches from the ground. Burden was African-American, and the circumstances surrounding the death conjured up ugly images of the Old South. Some in the Coweta County town of 1,300 simply didn't believe Burden took his own life. Others criticized Grantville's Police Department, which they said dismissed any notion of foul play before conducting a thorough investigation. On Monday, Coweta Circuit District Attorney Pete Skandalakis said the GBI had found no evidence to indicate that Burden, 21, had been killed by someone else. "It appears, sadly, that Bernard Burden was a young man who felt life had nothing more to offer him," Skandalakis said. Burden's mother, Tamathy Pless, who was highly critical of the police, was aware of the findings but was not available for comment, said her attorney, Graylin Ward. The state's investigation of the death concluded that, among other things, Watson was upset at the prospect of ending his relationship with his girlfriend, Charity Hope Watson. The night before he died, the couple talked for 5 1/2 hours, telephone records show. Watson told investigators that Burden was weeping and told her that "nobody knew how bad he felt." According to an autopsy in the state report, there were no injuries that might have indicated a struggle or foul play. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution March 8, 2005

No Charges filed by LA County DA in Police Killing of Black Man

• Police Believe Kenyante Reed had a Gun. No Gun was Found.
  

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office will not file criminal charges against a Long Beach police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man in July. The district attorney concluded that Officer David Garcia, whom the city later fired, acted in self-defense July 16 when he shot 22-year-old Keyante Reed near Second Street and Orange Avenue. Witnesses told police and district attorney's investigators that Reed led Garcia on a chase into a driveway before growling and lunging toward the officer, prompting Garcia to fire once at Reed's chest. "Although it was later determined that Reed did not have a weapon, Officer Garcia reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger of death of serious injury when he fired his gun," the report said. The city fired Garcia, a three-year veteran, Dec. 3 after a shooting review board recommended his termination. Police Chief Anthony Batts said at the time that Garcia's actions were inconsistent with his training. Deputy Chief Ted Hulsey said the department was not surprised by the district attorney's conclusion, noting that the Police Department used different standards to reach its conclusion on Garcia's termination. The Reed case drew citywide attention last summer as members of Reed's family criticized Garcia's action. Family members said Garcia left himself few options but to fire his weapon if the situation with Reed got beyond control. Garcia was on patrol about 11 p.m. when Reed called for his attention. Reed, who was carrying a can of beer, began yelling profanities at the officer and passing drivers, according to the district attorney's report. Garcia followed Reed on foot down Second Street. Reed zig-zagged through cars and told the officer to "kill me now. Kill me now," witnesses said. Garcia shot Reed in a driveway after Reed screamed, growled and lunged toward the officer. Toxicology reports later showed traces of marijuana, but no alcohol, in Reed's system. [more]

Talladega grand jury finds fatal Police shooting of Black Man Justified

A Talladega County grand jury has determined that the shooting death of a robbery suspect by a police officer at a convenience store was justified, according to District Attorney Steve Giddens. The fatal shooting of Prince Rogers Patterson, 22, occurred after he entered Benny's Stop and Go on Jan. 23 and apparently attempted to rob it, with his actions caught on the store's surveillance camera. "At some point, he comes around the counter. One of the female clerks stepped on a silent alarm button in the floor and then ran to a secure area in the back of the store," Giddens said Monday. "The remaining clerk was taken by Patterson out of the range of the camera." When police arrived, one of the officers sprayed Patterson with pepper spray, but he lunged for a second officer who shot him twice, authorities said. Giddens said Patterson got up, walked out of the store and ran up the street before paramedics found him dead about 90 feet away. [more] and [more]

Bakersfield Sued for Police Shooting of Latino Man

The City of Bakersfield is facing a lawsuit by the family of a Bakersfield man shot to death by police a year ago. Gabriel Garcia, 20, was killed when he refused orders to drop his knife. Garcia was trying to force his way into the home of a registered sex offender. Last year, BPD passed out fliers in a southwest neighborhood warning people that known sex offender Vincent Verdile lived there and said he may be involved in that type of crime. The federal lawsuit points to the flier and BPD misconduct as the reason Garcia ended up being killed by police. After Garcia’s death, many conversations were recorded at the Police Dispatch Center, including one where an officer can be heard saying, “well, if we’re going to shoot him, we might as well do it right.” Attorney Kiya Kato is representing Garcia’s family. “The thing that's most offensive is that the individual making those comments is not only a Bakersfield Police officer, but he's the person who's charged with the responsibility of investigating the shooting,” said Kato. She said the remark is symptomatic of a bigger problem with BPD and its policy on when to use deadly force. “The police should allow shooting the individual poses an imminent threat of physical danger to somebody, and the facts in this case would show that type of danger just did not exist,” said Kato. But Bakersfield City Attorney Ginny Genaro said everything officers did was reasonable. “I'm very confident that our actions by our officers will be found justified,” said Genaro. He was trying to kick in Verdile’s door and carrying a knife, according to police. “This young man was not responding to the oral directives of the Police Department,” said Genaro. “He did not respond to the tazer. He was obviously under the influence of some type of stimulant.”  [more] and [more]

• Family honors man fatally shot one year ago [more]
• Officers justified in shooting according to review board [more]