Calumet City Officer who Beat Down Black Teen Suing the City

The city now will be targeted in a multifaceted lawsuit by a Calumet City police officer who said he was betrayed by officials after being accused of beating a teen detained on a jaywalking charge. The disciplinary action against Officer Louis Picicco escalated this month when he was ordered suspended without pay pending the outcome of an arbitration hearing set to convene April 29. Picicco was accused in August of beating Don Pennington Jr., then 16. The officer had been on paid administrative leave since September. Picicco has contended that he simply restrained the teen, who he said attacked him after becoming irate over being detained at the station. Picicco, through his attorney, Luke Casson, previously said he would file suit against City Attorney Burt Odelson. He alleged there was a conflict of interest when Odelson, who represented both the city and Picicco, negotiated a civil rights lawsuit with Pennington's family without accepting Picicco's version of the story. Picicco wanted to wait for the arbitration outcome before deciding if the city would be a target. According to Casson, that changed when the officer was suspended. The suit will allege legal malpractice by Odelson, defamation of character and civil rights violations, Casson said. [more]

Charlottesville Police Report sparks race discussion

A deep-seated mistrust of Charlottesville police within the black community so hampered the investigation into a recent police shooting, the city’s top prosecutor said, that the only option was to seek the appointment of a special grand jury with subpoena power. That jury cleared the officers of wrongdoing, but also returned an unusual 12-page report detailing ways to improve the city police department’s relationship with black residents. The case, Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman said, highlights the wide racial divide that city police must work to overcome. “It literally became apparent that we were not going to be able to complete a comprehensive investigation unless we had the ability to make people appear and answer questions,” Chapman said. City officials, authorities and local black leaders said they agree with the report’s recommendations. Some pointed out that the case was just one of several racially divisive issues that have exploded in the past year or so, including a police policy of seeking DNA from black men in the hunt for a serial rapist and widespread criticism of Scottie Griffin, the black school superintendent. All agree there is a problem, but opinions differed on the degree to which race relations have suffered. [more]

Bakersfield police face new rules after federal investigation

A year after a U.S. Justice Department investigation into alleged racial profiling and excessive force, the Bakersfield Police Department is instituting sweeping policy changes that limit, among other things, the circumstances in which an officer can shoot at a moving vehicle. Though the investigation found no proof of the allegations, the report has spurred a move in the police department to better train its officers, said Bakersfield Police Chief Bill Rector. Written guidelines on policies including shooting at vehicles, deploying dogs and using pepper spray have recently been given to all officers, according to a list of changes recently released by the department. Supervisors are now required to report all uses of force on separate forms, as well on standard police reports, Rector said. The information is put into a database that allows police to track patterns. The department would eventually like to make portions of the information available to the public. The policy changes also strengthen the guidelines regarding when officers can fire their guns at moving vehicles. Such shootings can cause bullet ricochets that can injure officers or bystanders, according to the Justice Department report. Rector said officers must now be in an immediate threat situation to fire at a moving vehicle. Officers also must not place themselves in the path of a moving vehicle. [more]

Bay Area Fijians march to protest shooting of Kamal Lal

Bay Area Fijians plan to take to the streets Sunday to protest the recent fatal shooting of a man by the California Highway Patrol, and to call for more scrutiny of the use of so-called "deadly force." Members from the National Association of Fiji Americans and their supporters will march the half-mile from downtown Redwood City to the CHP's local office to commemorate the death of Kamal Lal. The 43-year-old Lal, a Fijian, was killed on March 6 during a standoff with officers on Highway 101 in Belmont. Lal, a South San Francisco resident, led police on a high-speed chase up and down the Peninsula before crashing, then allegedly threw rocks at officers, finally coming at them with a piece of concrete. Lal was wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident earlier that day. Protest organizer Ashok Muni said he while doesn't condone Lal's actions, the officers used poor judgment. "They pull out their guns and shoot to kill," Muni said. "When officers were found in this situation, they shouldn't have made a quick decision, and actually taken a second to decide."  [more]

•  'It doesn't make sense,' says wife of man shot by CHP [more]

KKK Reputation Said To Hamper Police Recruitment in Frederick County

Frederick County's lingering reputation as a Ku Klux Klan stronghold is hurting the Frederick City Police Department's efforts to reach minority hiring goals specified in a 1993 consent decree, a consultant says. Twelve years after the agreement was signed to settle a discrimination lawsuit, the department remains far short of the goal of increasing the number of black officers to match the percentage of black city residents, according to a report by Personnel Performances Inc. The San Diego-based firm found that there were nine black officers on the city's 135-member police force, The Frederick News-Post reported Wednesday. The department needs to hire at least seven more blacks to meet goals outlined in the agreement, the consultants said. Although the department has made strides, including putting a black officer in charge of personnel, "there is still a perception of it being Klan country," consultant Terry Eisenberg said. "It's not universal, but enough people bring it up that it still hangs out there. [more]

Modesto Activist says Enough is Enough with Police civil rights abuses

A Modesto civil rights activist is organizing a march in Ceres Saturday to protest what he calls a "perceived misconduct by the Ceres Police Department." Robert Stanford is also calling for a "demand for greater appreciation and understanding by local law enforcement of Latino culture." Stanford joins some Hispanics in criticizing the Ceres Police Department for its aggressive crackdown on gang members in Ceres, saying officers are profiling Latinos and taking unnecessary force. "This is no police state," said Stanford. "This is not Nazi Germany. We're against police drawing heavy artillery on Latino children and...pulling them over because they meet one or two of the criteria." Ceres Police Chief Art de Werk said he's troubled that Stanford would conduct a march "based on perceptions and not not as facts or reality." The march comes months after de Werk's department made overtures to reach out to the Hispanic community. He has consistently explained that his department cannot afford to take a laid-back approach to gangs following the Jan. 9 shooting of two of his officers by a gang member.  [more]

• Pictured above: Last month Police Chief Art de Werk asked for and received $260,000 to purchase an armoured rescue/tactical vehicle. He said the vehicle would contribute to the safety of officers and citizenss and to allow the rescue of incapacitated individuals during shootings. [more]
• Check Out  LocalBlack.com
• Ceres March and Rally for Justice! [more]
  

Excessive Force Suit Brought by Indians Against NY State Police Allowed to Proceed

An excessive force lawsuit brought against the New York State Police by a group of Indians can proceed through the courts. That's the ruling from a federal judge in Syracuse. US District Judge Frederick Scullin determined there's enough questions of fact for a jury to decide the claims of 65 protesters who say troopers used excessive force and violated their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The lawsuit stems from a confrontation at a 1997 protest staged by Indians who were blocking Interstate 81 where it runs through the Onondaga Indian Nation, just south of Syracuse. About two dozen demonstrators were arrested protesting a sales-tax agreement between Onondaga Nation chiefs and the Pataki administration. The protesters claimed dozens of troopers used excessive force to quell the protest when it spilled onto I-81. Charges were dismissed against all but one protester, who was acquitted following a jury trial. [more]

Accused police officer testifies

One of the two Palo Alto police officers facing brutality charges for allegedly beating a black motorist took the witness stand Tuesday for the first time as the prosecutor wrapped up his case. Officer Michael Kan, 26, began reading a transcript of his testimony during the case's preliminary examination for the jury late Tuesday afternoon. Kan and Officer Craig Lee, 41, are accused of beating and pepper-spraying Palo Alto resident Albert Hopkins, 61, on the night of July 13, 2003, after he allegedly refused to provide identification to the officers and became confrontational. At the preliminary examination held last summer, Kan testified that when he arrived on the scene to provide back-up to Lee, he approached Hopkins, who was "hostile." "He was basically argumentative with me and very aggressive," Kan said. Kan read his preliminary examination testimony in which he described Hopkins as cursing and using slang on the night of the alleged beating. "A black man can't do nothing in Palo Alto without the police being involved," Kan testified Hopkins said. Last week Hopkins testified at the trial that he received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master's degree from San Diego State University. During his testimony, which lasted more than a day, he never used the style of speech that Kan attributed to him at the preliminary examination. [more]

Police abuse alleged by blacks in Marin County (CA)

Marin County elected officials and concerned residents are considering the formation of a citizen review board to examine complaints of police abuse of minorities in Marin City and other parts of the county. A dozen people, many of them African American, complained before a hearing of the county Human Rights Commission last month of being harassed and/or arrested by authorities in some parts of the county. Many believe officers stop, handcuff and manhandle blacks as a way of training young officers. And in a series of Chronicle interviews with 30 randomly selected African American residents in Marin City, 10 said they'd been stopped and harassed by law enforcement officers in the past year. Derrick Morgan, a member of the Marin City Community Service District board who is in charge of safety issues, said there is a need for some sort of process to investigate complaints from the public. Most complaints aired last month before the Human Rights Commission came from Marin City, an unincorporated community between Mill Valley and Sausalito. It is home to many of the county's African American residents, who live in a collection of apartment complexes, public housing units and private homes. Marin County, with one of the state's highest median household incomes at $71,300 in 2000, has a population of 250,000 -- predominantly white. It is made up of 11 incorporated cities with their own police departments. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans as a percentage of the county population fell from 3.5 percent to 2.9 percent from 1990 to 2000. [more]

Rapper from Dead Prez Compensated by New York City for False Arrest

Dead Prez star Stic.man has received more than $50,000 in settlement fees from the city of New York for false arrest and excessive force, according to his attorney. The rapper and three associates were arrested during a photo shoot and subsequently sued the New York Police Department for false arrest and excessive force. A portion of the settlement will be donated to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement to prevent further police misconduct, reports MTV.com. [more]

'If Frank Jude could be beaten half to death, so can you.'

 

• Racist Milwaukee Cops accused in beating plead not guilty
  

Three police officers accused of beating a man they thought had stolen a badge and wallet during an off-duty party pleaded not guilty to felony charges Wednesday after a court commissioner found there was enough evidence for them to stand trial. Frank L. Jude Jr., of Appleton, took the witness stand and for the first time formally faced the men charged with battering him while he lay face down in the street outside the house where off-duty officers were partying during the early morning hours of Oct. 24. Jude, 26, testified he could not identify the men who delivered the blows that left him with a fractured nose and other injuries. All three defendants, Jon Bartlett, Daniel Masarik and Andrew Spengler, are charged with party to substantial battery. Bartlett and Masarik also are charged with party to second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Masarik faces a third count of perjury. The only other witness at the preliminary hearing, Officer Joseph Schabel, testified he saw all three off-duty officers punch or kick Jude after Schabel and his partner responded to the scene. "Officer Bartlett came in and kicked Jude in the face," Schabel said, adding he heard a "popping and cracking" sound. Schabel said he ordered Bartlett to step back. Spengler "punched him twice in the face," and Masarik kicked Jude in the head, the officer testified. Commissioner Barry Phillips found probable cause to support the charges and set a scheduling hearing for early April.  [more]

NAACP complains of bias in Jude, George cases

The Milwaukee branch of the NAACP Monday called upon federal court officials and the Milwaukee County district attorney's office to diversify their leadership ranks following what the organization described as "biases" in two separate cases. The group took exception to what it said was the "lenient" charge against one officer involved in the Frank Jude Jr. beating case, as well as the "light" sentence given to one of the central figures in the kickback scheme involving former state Sen. Gary R. George. It is the perceived racial biases coming out of both offices in those two cases that are of utmost concern, said Jerry Ann Hamilton, president of the local NAACP branch, at a press conference. "We recommend that they diversify the leadership positions within their offices to create an atmosphere accommodating to diverse, open-minded reasoning," she said. The NAACP says the charge filed against Andrew R. Spengler, one of the police officers accused in the October beating of Jude in Bay View, was too lenient. Spengler was charged last month with being a party to the crime of substantial battery and faces up to 3 1/2 years in prison and $10,000 fine. Two other officers, Jon M. Bartlett and Daniel L. Masarik, face more severe charges in connection with the beating. If convicted, Bartlett could serve up to 22 1/2 years in prison., while Masarik faces a maximum of 19 1/2 years. [more]

NO Hiring Criteria for Milwaukee Cops

No one person is held accountable when a bad officer is hired in Milwaukee, because no one person is responsible - or even sees the applicant's entire file. Instead, the patchwork hiring system relies on a point scale designed to purge all subjectivity from the process and keep the city out of court. The Fire and Police Commission, which hires the city's officers, hasn't even attempted to assess whether the new system - borne of 30 years of litigation over racial bias - is effective. The commission didn't orally interview applicants from 1997 through 1999. It didn't begin giving officer candidates psychological tests until 2000, more than two decades after they were adopted by many other departments, according to experts on police hiring. Milwaukee continues to differ from other departments because it doesn't require all applicants to be interviewed by a psychologist, experts say. Not one of the five Milwaukee police officers charged with felonies in the past month received a psychological test and only one was even interviewed by the department before going onto a hiring list. Both procedures are standard for departments across the country and considered essential to weeding out potential problem officers before they join the force. [more]

Houston Police Officer Gunned Down Latino Teen - Then Delayed in Calling Ambulance

A Houston Independent School District police officer delayed several minutes before calling for an ambulance to help a dying 19-year-old he shot on the grounds of an elementary school last October, according to witnesses' accounts and public records obtained by the Houston Chronicle. A fire station was just five blocks away from Lantrip Elementary School, but help did not arrive until 1:47 a.m. — 29 minutes after a medical examiner's report says the officer first surprised Roy Rodriguez while allegedly trying to jimmy a vending machine with a screwdriver. Officer Richard McColister told investigators that he thought Rodriguez had a gun and he shot at him in self-defense. A school district spokesman initially said McColister had not delayed summoning medical help, but later said the officer didn't call right away because Rodriguez had fled and he wasn't even sure his shot had hit him. In a just-released autopsy report, the Harris County Medical Examiner's office said there was a trail of blood from the vending machine to the spot where Rodriguez fell, and soon died. A single bullet had entered on his left-rear side, then passed through his heart and out the front of his chest. Rodriguez also had fresh cuts and bruises on his face, the report says. A screwdriver was found near the vending machine, but no gun or other weapon was found at the scene. The Houston Chronicle requested response times and other details about Rodriguez's death after witnesses and family members complained that it took up to half an hour before an ambulance arrived from the nearby station on Telephone Road. The school district has offered conflicting timelines on the incident also . . ."There's a lot of discrepancies here — things don't add up," said Sylvia Gonzales, of the League of United Latin American Citizens in Houston.  [more]

Prosecutor asks for rare hearing into fatal shooting of Black teen by Delray Police

Saying he wants to put public concern to rest, State Attorney Barry Krischer on Thursday took the unusual step of seeking a public hearing known as a coroner's inquest -- into last month's shooting death of 16-year-old Jerrod Miller by a rookie Delray Beach police officer. It is only the second time in Krischer's 12-year tenure that he has sought such a hearing. The first one was the July 2003 coroner's inquest into the hanging death of Belle Glade resident Feraris Golden.  After a two-day hearing, Circuit Judge Judge Harold Cohen ruled that a depressed Golden took his own life. Krischer said Thursday that -- as with the Golden case -- the community would be best served by a public inquiry into Miller's death. "The benefit of an inquest is that it's not secret. It's open to the public and everyone has an opportunity to participate if they have germane information," he said. Officer Darren Cogoni shot Miller as the teen drove a Cadillac through a courtyard at the Delray Full Service Center during a Feb. 26 school dance. Miller reportedly fled when Cogoni asked for the teen's license, according to witnesses. Records indicate Miller did not have a license. [more] and [more]

• Weekly protests planned over shooting of teen by Delray police [more]
• Same old story in Delray Beach
  
• Delray shooting spawns second task force
  

Shooting prompts NAACP task force
Residents moved by the recent shooting death of a 16-year-old at the hands of police emerged Friday night as members of a new task force for the South Palm Beach County branch of the NAACP. Seeking solutions to the racial tensions between the area's black community and city officials, area residents packed into Pompey Park's community center and established The Delray Beach Task Force. The 27-member task force will work under the direction of the NAACP to address a law enforcement investigation in the death of Jerrod Miller, who was shot dead outside a school dance by a 23-year-old rookie Delray Beach police officer. [more]

In the Wake of Police Killing of Unarmed Black Man - Aurora Police to Enact Deadly Force Board

• Police Caught Lying, Contradicting themselves in Fatal Shooting of Jammal Bonner

The Aurora police department, which shot seven people last year and killed five, is taking steps to examine the use of deadly force. A CBS4 News investigation last week probed the shooting of an unarmed man. The department is setting up an internal review board to examine officer's use of force in future cases. On Dec. 3, 2003, Jammal Bonner, 20, found himself outside the Top Star motel selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer posing as a hooker. Police were trying to arrest prostitution patrons. A police surveillance camera was rolling and a "street arrest team" was in place, ready to take down suspects. Bonner wasn't interested in sex, though, and the undercover police officer said she lured him up to a motel room. But what exactly happened in that room at the Top Star motel? As four SWAT officers pour into the room, the surveillance tape was turned off. Officers have conflicting accounts. Two of the officers said Bonner was shot while he struggled with police, and was standing up when the shots were fired. Three officers in the room have conflicting accounts, indicating Bonner had been Tasered and was shot in the back while he was on the floor or going down. "He's down, but he's on his knees," one officer said. "But his head is down, basically on the floor." Police say they thought Bonner had a gun. They also say he never showed his hands. It turned out he had no weapon.  Bonner's parents say the time has come for change. "I want some change," Bonnie Bonner, Jamal's mother, said. "I don't want to see this happen to another soul." [more] and [more]

• Excellent Investigative Reporting Piece on the Bonner Police Killing is [here]
  

Louisville Police Officer who Killed Michael Newby to get $60,000 to Stay Off police force

•  Since 1997 at least 10 Black or Latino Men have been Killed by Louisville Police - No Officers have been Convicted [more]

The Louisville Metro Police Department has struck a deal that will ensure former Officer McKenzie Mattingly won't ever be back on the police force. The family of the drug suspect he shot to death says they're shocked and upset by the deal. In January 2004 Mattingly shot 19-year old Michael Newby. Metro Police said the shooting occurred during an undercover drug bust gone bad. Mattingly was later fired but a jury acquitted him on murder charges. He petitioned to get his job back. Now he has apparently struck a deal with the LMPD in which he'll receive about $60,000 in back pay and will stop trying to be reinstated as an officer. Newby's family is upset because they didn't even know the deal was being negotiated. Newby's mother, Angela Bouggess said, "When it came to this thing right here, we didn't have no idea any of this was going on, then bam! Smack in the settlement he's getting $60,000." LMPD chief Robert White said, "From my perspective what's the most important thing is McKenzie Mattingly is not a police officer in our department and that goal was met today." [more]

• Mattingly hopes Newby's survivors will forgive him [more]

Newby's family rejects offer to settle lawsuit against city

Louisville metro government has offered to settle a $5 million wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Michael Newby, the 19-year-old man shot by former police Detective McKenzie Mattingly during an undercover drug deal in January 2004. The civil suit was filed against Mattingly and the metro government last March. Newby's family said last night that the city had offered them $200,000, a figure that city officials confirmed. The family rejected that offer, said spokesman Christopher 2X. Mayor Jerry Abramson said yesterday that both sides have agreed to send the matter to mediation. "We'll see what happens now," 2X said. [more]

More Disrespect from Denver Police - Cop Suspended for Only 30 Days After Killing 63 Year Old, Invalid, Latino Man

Police Chief Gerry Whitman recommended that Ranjan Ford Jr. receive a 30-day suspension for shooting and killing an unarmed invalid last summer. That Monday recommendation is 10 days more than the suspension Whitman recommended for officer James Turney, who fatally shot Paul Childs, a developmentally disabled teen, in July 2003.  "I think a 30-day suspension is an arbitrary and capricious number," said Mike Mosco, president of the Denver Police Protective Association "We stand behind Ranjan and we are going to ensure that his due process rights are protected and enforced." The mother of Lobato's three children, Christina Gomez, said Wednesday she couldn't believe Whitman's suggested discipline. "This is absurd, unbelievable," said Gomez, reached at her home in Sacramento, Calif. "(Ford) should be fired - off the force completely." If it were someone other than a law enforcement officer who fired the fatal shot, he would be in jail and not given a slap on the wrist, she said. "Because (Ford) is a police officer doesn't give them the right to excuse him," she said. "There should be criminal charges against him."  News of the recommendation quickly spread throughout the police department. A fax sent out from District Six asked officers to donate to a fund established to help with Ford's expenses if the recommended suspension goes through. Lobato, 63, was shot July 11 in a west Denver home as he lay in bed watching television, after Ford apparently mistook a soda can in the man's hand for a weapon. [more]

• Civil Suit Pending In December, a grand jury decided not to indict Ford in the shooting, and then-District Attorney Bill Ritter declined to file charges. Ford, a Denver police officer since 2001, is back on the job, but not on patrol duty. The shooting could lead to federal action. Family attorney Kenneth Padilla said Lobato's relatives may file a federal civil rights lawsuit. The Department of Justice also is weighing whether to intervene. [more]

And Even More Disrespect from Denver Police, Cop who Killed 15 Year Old Black Boy gets Job Back

He returned to work Monday, 11 months after receiving one of the stiffest penalties for a fatal police shooting in Denver in connection with the killing of a developmentally disabled teen. Officer James Turney is back on the job and sitting behind a desk. Turney is now working in the police department's technology and support division, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Tuesday. Turney's 10-month suspension was lifted in January by a civil service commission hearing officer. Although Turney has said he wants to return to patrol, the final decision was up to Police Chief Gerry Whitman, who said last year he would be assigning Turney to an administrative post upon his return. Last April, Manager of Safety Al LaCabe suspended Turney for 10 months without pay. The suspension came almost a year after Turney shot and killed 15-year-old Paul Childs, who wielded a knife. "He shouldn't have a job, period," said Helen Childs, who was reached at her home Tuesday evening. "He should be in jail where he belongs." At the very least, she says, Turney should have been fired for killing her son in July 2003. She said she takes some comfort knowing he's assigned to a desk job. "I'm glad he's not on the streets because he would do it again," Childs said. In January, Civil Service Commission hearing officer John Criswell overturned Turney's 10-month penalty, saying Turney should not have been disciplined for the shooting The city has filed an appeal of the ruling with the Civil Service Commission.[more]