State Police Probe Holland Officer-Involved Deadly Shooting of Latino Man

 

Days after his death, relatives of Eladino Fraire say they still do not understand why a Holland police officer shot and killed the 25-year-old. "Why did it come to a shooting? Why didn't they shoot out (his car's) tires?" said Fraire's older brother, Juan Fraire, of Holland. State police, who are investigating the shooting, are trying to determine why Fraire crashed into a police cruiser last Friday, then tried to run over an officer before he was shot. The incident began when police tried to pull over his car on a traffic stop, and Fraire led police on a short chase ending in the parking lot of a store on Waverly Road near East 16th Street. Investigators have not been able to offer much information to the family. The Holland officer who fired the shots and another involved in the chase remain on administrative leave, pending a police review, which is routine in such cases. Holland police say they understand Fraire's family has questions, but they cannot yet offer answers because the case remains under investigation. [more]

Michael Newby Suit to move forward: Louisville Police Oficer Shot Black Man to Death

A federal judge declined to halt a lawsuit filed by the family of a 19-year-old who was fatally shot by a Louisville police officer two years ago. Former Officer McKenzie Mattingly shot Michael Newby in January 2004 during an undercover drug buy. Mattingly was charged with murder and later fired, but a jury cleared him of criminal charges after a high-profile trial in September 2004. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson ruled that the civil suit filed by Newby's family should move forward. "The plaintiff has offered sufficient evidence that, if proved, would establish that Mattingly's actions were objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established law," Simpson wrote in the 14-page opinion released Friday. Mattingly had argued in court papers that the civil suit should be thrown out because he shot an armed drug dealer who had threatened him. Police found drugs and a gun on Newby after the shooting. Newby's mother, Angela Bouggess, alleges that Mattingly acted negligently and that he assaulted Newby. The lawsuit also names the Louisville Metro government, saying the city failed to train Mattingly properly. Bouggess is seeking punitive and compensatory damages "in amounts to be proven at trial," the lawsuit said. A trial date has not been set. She said she filed the suit so her son's death "has not been in vain." [more] and [more]

•  Louisville Cop who Killed Michael Newby will Go Free - Not Guilty [more]
  

  
   

Over the past 7 Years at least 10 Black and Latino Men have been Killed by Louisville Police. No Officers have been Convicted  [more] (repost.)

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

Hobbs Officer Cleared In Fatal Shooting of Latino Man

Another investigation has cleared a Hobbs police officer in a fatal shooting early last year. District Attorney Terry Haake's investigation into the shooting death of Francisco Barva, 23, cleared officer Reid Gunter, according to an announcement by the Hobbs Police Department. Haake found that the officer acted in self-defense in January 2005 and that the shooting was justified. It was the fifth report to clear the officer. A report by the Lea County Sheriff's Department found that Gunter was wrestling Barva to the ground when Barva pointed a gun at the officer. The report said the officer drew his gun and fired once, killing Barva. [more]

• The Hobbs Police Force has a History of Racial Discrimination. As a result of a class action lawsuit against the Hobbs 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]
  

Gwinnett County Deputy Impleads Taser Company in Death of Hog-Tied Black Man

• "Are we supposed to believe that a healthy 31-year-old Black man who was athletic, who did not drink or do drugs, who had no history of heart problems, somehow died of a heart attack?" [more]

A former Sheriff's deputy who blamed a Taser stun gun manufacturer in the death of Gwinnett County inmate this week amended his claim that the manufacturer's intentionally mislead law enforcement with their marketing and training tools. In the initial cross claim, lawyers for former Sheriff's deputy Michael Mustachio said Taser International misrepresented its product as being safe and used biased scientific studies to demonstrate its effectiveness. The amendment filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta sought to omit those damning statements. Mustachio's lawyers still maintain that Taser International - not Mustachio - should be held liable if a judge decides 31-year-old Frederick Jerome Williams died because he was stunned with a Taser.  Following Williams' death on May 27, 2004, his widow, Yanga Williams, sued Gwinnett County, the Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Butch Conway and six deputies for wrongful death. Mustachio's attorney, Terry Williams said, "we still dispute whether the Taser caused this death. We don't have any specific evidence at this point that necessarily says Taser is responsible to the plaintiff for this death, but in the event that information wasn't passed along to law enforcement we want to pursue our right to have Taser held liable." Frederick Jerome Williams, 31, a Liberian native who lived in Lawrenceville, died of brain damage from a heart attack after the altercation in May, according to the final autopsy report in the case [more]

Landmark Settlement Reached in Notorious School Drug Raid Caught on Tape: Black Kids Rounded Up

• Although only 22% of the school's 2,700 students are Black, 70 out of the 105 students searched and detained were Black. [more ]

The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a landmark settlement reached this week in its lawsuit challenging police tactics in the high-profile drug raid of Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The settlement sets a new standard for students’ constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Absent a warrant, police will now need either to have probable cause and pressing circumstances or voluntary consent in order to conduct law enforcement activity on school grounds – effectively granting Goose Creek students the essential privacy rights enjoyed by all Americans. “Police must now respect the fundamental freedoms of Goose Creek students,” said Alyse Bertenthal, an attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project.  “The settlement properly raises the bar for student rights, and should serve as a model for every school in the country.” The November 5, 2003 police raid of Stratford High School was recorded by both the school’s surveillance cameras and a police camera.  The tapes show students as young as 14 forced to the ground in handcuffs as officers in SWAT team uniforms and bulletproof vests aim guns at their heads and lead a drug dog to tear through their book bags. The ACLU represents 20 of the nearly 150 students caught up in the raid. The raid was initiated by the school’s principal at the time, George McCrackin, who resigned shortly after the tapes surfaced on national television. The raid was authorized based on the principal’s suspicion that a single student was dealing marijuana. The raid was carried out despite the suspected student being absent at the time.  No drugs or weapons were found during the raid and no charges were filed. The raid took place in the early morning hours when the school’s hallways are predominantly populated with African American students whose buses arrive before those of their white classmates, which largely travel from different neighborhoods.  White students began to arrive during the raid and witnessed the hostile roundup and detention of their African American peers. As 16-year-old Joshua Ody, one of the students caught up in the raid, put it, “I felt like I had less rights than other people that day.” [more]

• Raid at High School Leads to Racial Divide, Not Drugs [more ]

Black Teens Driving in the Wrong Part of Town: Suit Alleges Excessive Force & Racial Profiling By Burnham Police

 
Clean Cut Black Students Caught 'Driving While Black'
The village of Burnham, in the South suburbs has been hit with a lawsuit that says four of its police officers are guilty of racial profiling. There are only about 4,000 people in Burnham and the 2000 census indicates that more than half are black. Now a federal lawsuit filed by four black teenagers claims four white police officers in Burnham pulled the teenagers' car over on the night of March 4, used vulgar language, pulled three of the teenagers out, then slammed two of them against the car. The boys are James Woods, a musician who dreams of playing with the Chicago Symphony; Matthew Locke, a National Honor student; his brother Brandon Locke, an athlete; and friend Jeffrey Lockett. Their federal lawsuit alleges three officers of the Burnham Police Department pulled them over for “driving while black.” Aubrey Locke is the father of two of the teenagers. "At the end of the incident, Brandon Locke asked the police officers, 'Was all this profanity necessary?'  And that's when the police said, 'Get over it.  Welcome to Burnham,'" said Locke. The lawsuit says the teenagers were not ticketed or charged with anything.  The suit claims police used excessive force and stopped the car because the people inside it were black. The suit asks for the village of Burnham to pay damages. [more] and [more] and [more]

Calumet City Police Officer Cleared of Wrong Doing in Beating of 15 Year Old Black Teen says he was Set Up

Black Teen Beaten by Police: Stopped for Jaywalking in 2004 [more ]
Police Officer Louis Picicco was cleared in October of accusations of beating a detained teen, but he said he still feels betrayed by numerous city officials. Picicco was accused in August 2004 of beating Don Pennington Jr., then 16. He was placed on administrative leave in September of the same year. Picicco, who is white, said he only restrained the black teen, who he said attacked him after becoming irate at the station. Picicco filed a lawsuit against the city in April 2005 for damage to his reputation and his out-of-pocket expenses. He returned to work in May. In October, arbitrator Brian Clauss cleared Picicco of any wrongdoing. Picicco sent a letter this month to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois requesting it investigate how the city's attorney, Burt Odelson, handled legal proceedings after the incident.  Picicco said in August he believed city officials set him up as a political fall guy to pacify rising racial tensions prior to Qualkinbush's run for re-election, where one of her challengers was black. Odelson said Pennington dismissed Picicco out of the civil lawsuit voluntarily, and said no further legal actions can be taken by Pennington. [more]

Charles County Officer Won't Face Charges In Shooting Death of Black Man

A grand jury in Charles County has cleared a sheriff's officer of any wrongdoing after he shot and killed a man accused of drunken driving last month.Jonathan Lyles, of Oxon Hill, Md., was shot and killed March 18 as officers tried to arrest him outside an apartment complex on Zekiah Run Road.A makeshift memorial still stands in the La Plata neighborhood where Lyles was shot.The grand jury decision is not sitting well with Lyles' family and friends.Lyles' mother said her son did not have to die and she believes police are covering up their actions."I know that they're wrong. And as far as the investigation, their own people investigate. They didn't have anybody come out and investigate. That's the reason why they were found not guilty," Betty Lyles, the victim's mother said.Police said Lyles was shot after he resisted arrest and started wrestling with several officers. They also said Lyles was shot once, but family members said he was shot three times without serious provocation. [more]

Trial Begins in East Palo Alto Police Beat Down of Unarmed Black Man

Opening statements in the trial of two East Palo Alto police officers accused of beating an East Palo Alto man in 2004 are expected in San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Carl Holm's courtroom Monday. Officers Edward Rivers Jr., 39, and Johnny Taflinger Jr., 33,along with a police explorer, are charged with assault on a citizen under color of authority, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, and misdemeanor battery. The defendants were indicted by a San Mateo County criminal grand jury in Feb. 2005 following an investigation by the San Mateo County District Attorney's office. The men allegedly beat the victim, Calvin Brooks, on Aug. 21, 2004. The suspects were off duty in East Palo Alto when they assaulted Brooks, whom they believed to be a local drug dealer, according to the district attorney's office. The men reportedly identified themselves as police officers, but the victim did not believe them and did not report the alleged crime. East Palo Alto Police Officer David Carson later informed the district attorney's office about the assault. According to San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, prior to the alleged assault the officers attended a celebratory party where alcohol had been served.  [more]

Dirty Baltimore Cops Case Goes to the Jury: Police Sold Drugs, Stole from Drug Dealers

Federal prosecutors punctuated their conspiracy and drug trafficking case against two Baltimore City police detectives by describing the officers as predators who enriched themselves by extorting drugs and cash from addicts and low-level dealers in West Baltimore. But the attorney for one of the defendants, in a phone conversation with the AFRO, portrayed both officers as honest veterans who were merely using "unwritten" police department methods in their quest to rid Baltimore's streets of illegal drugs.  William A. King and Antonio L. Murray, both on the force since 1992, were arrested and indicted last May on charges that include conspiracy to possess and distribute narcotics, possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a violent crime and drug trafficking and robbery, and extortion. Based on wiretaps accumulated during an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecutors accuse King and Murray of conspiring with Antonio Mosby, a police informant, to shake down drug dealers for narcotics and money between August 2004 and May 2005.
The indictment alleges that Mosby, who accepted a plea deal and testified against the officers, acted as a lookout, identifying dealers and the locations of drug stashes. The officers are also accused of using Mosby to resell confiscated heroin and crack cocaine, with all three sharing the profits. [more]

MASSIVE Manhunt for Black Man Over: White Sheriff Shot Himself

April 5, 2006

 
Town Paralyzed Searching for Black Man who did not exist
A sheriff's sergeant who provided a detailed description of a black man he said shot him in the arm has been charged with filing a false report after prosecutors say the sergeant actually turned his own gun on himself. Eaton County sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Lutz was charged Monday in connection with a March 20 shooting that prompted a massive manhunt for a black male suspect in Delta Township. "There is no danger to the community, as far as an unknown assailant who is armed and has assaulted a police officer," Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mike Eagen told the Lansing State Journal.  Lutz, who is on paid medical leave and is being housed at a mental health treatment facility, faces two felonies as well as two misdemeanor counts, according to the prosecutor's office. Shortly after 3 a.m. March 20, Lutz reported he was shot in the right arm while on patrol near the West Town Plaza on West Saginaw Highway. Police blocked off neighborhoods, closed school buildings and conducted a massive search at daybreak for the supposed gunman. More than 40 police officers from as many as six departments and at least one helicopter participated. St. Gerard Church shut down its school and canceled two morning Masses while police searched the area, including some parishioners' homes. [more] and [more]

• Pictured above: The sketch was drawn from Sergeant Lutz's description of the shooter. The Eaton County Sheriff's Department said he was a black man with a light to medium complexion in his early 20s, he's about 6 feet tall and has a muscular build. At the time of the "shooting", police said he was wearing a dark Yankees baseball cap and a dark sweat suit to match.  [more]
  
• Warrant Issued for Local Deputy Who Was Shot [more]
  

 
Black Community Responds to Phantom Menace Search
When Eaton County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Lutz reported he was shot March 20, he claimed a black man pulled the trigger. The news that Lutz is being charged with making it up has generated a lot of anger. The lines have been lit at Brant Johnson's WQHH-FM talk program ever since word of the new development in the Lutz case surfaced. "They were shocked that an officer would accuse a black man of such a terrible crime," Johnson said. Callers reactions ranged from outrage over how blacks in the area may have been treated in the wake of the shooting to calls for action. There is similar concern and disgust among leaders in Lansing's black community. Reverend Columbus Clayton asks that the sheriff department come forward and begin dialogue with the black community. He says every young, black male who may have fit a description Sgt. Lutz allegedly gave was in danger these past two weeks. [more] and [more] and  [more]

• Public beware: Armed suspect remains on the loose [more]
• Manhunt under way for suspect in police shooting [more]
• Suspect Sketch Released After Local Shooting [more]
• Pictured above: Officers from the Eaton County Sheriff's Department gather in the West Town Plaza parking lot after the manhunt was called off.

New Orleans Police Indicted in Videotaped 'Katrina' Beating of Unarmed, Handcuffed, 64-Year- Old Black Man

Two fired New Orleans police officers and one current officer were indicted Wednesday in the videotaped beating of a retired teacher in the French Quarter last fall. The Oct. 8 beating of Robert Davis, 64, was caught on videotape by an Associated Press Television News crew covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Earlier, the grand jury had heard from Davis, who told reporters as he entered the courthouse that he barely remembers the attack and would not be able to recognize the officers who beat him. Davis spent more than an hour testifying about the beating, which left him lying on the street, hands cuffed and blood flowing from his head and face. Afterward, he told reporters that he still has headaches and back problems and even had to interrupt his testimony to take medicine. The retired elementary school teacher said he was "a private citizen here on business returning to my home. There was no need for what happened." He said he had returned to the storm-struck city to check on his property and was looking for a place to buy cigarettes in the French Quarter when police grabbed him. The videotape shows an officer hitting Davis at least four times on the head. Davis twisted and flailed as he was dragged to the ground by four officers. One officer kneed Davis and punched him twice, and Davis is shown face-down on the sidewalk with blood streaming down his arm and into a gutter. Smith had ordered APTN producer Rich Matthews and the cameraman to stop recording. When Matthews held up his credentials, the officer grabbed him, jabbed him in the stomach and delivered a profanity-laced tirade. The video also shows two FBI agents joining the police in subduing Davis. Their role is being investigated by federal officials.  "Without this videotape, I'm sure this case would be swept under the rug," said Davis' attorney, Joseph Bruno. [more] and [more] and more]

• SEE Video [more] [

ALL-WHITE Jury Acquits Austin Police Officers in Videotaped Beating of Unarmed, Handcuffed Latino Man

 
NAACP calls for retrial
Jurors Deliberated for less than 2 hours

The local NAACP chapter spoke out, Monday, against the acquittal of two Austin Police Department officers accused of beating a handcuffed man and firing a stun gun at him. They are accused of punching Ramon Hernandez, 25, on the legs and back and shocking him at least once after he was facedown and in handcuffs. Officer Christopher Gray and former officer William Heilman were found not guilty of official oppression on Friday. The NAACP has called for a retrial. The jury was shown a videotape of the officers punching Ramon Hernandez, while he was on the ground. The all white jury didn't give Hernandez a fair trial, The Austin NAACP said.  "You want a balanced point of view, but look, the other thing is the issue that this man was beaten while down and subdued in handcuffs. That is against the law. Nobody is addressing that. We're sorry the cops had a bad day, but he was beaten while handcuffed," Linder said. Judge Jon Wisser presided over the case in the 299th District Court. He says no matter the race, it's always been difficult to prosecute officers in Travis County. Still, he admits the face of a jury makes a difference. "There's no doubt that Anglo males of my age are much less likely to have had unpleasant encounters with the police than people or people who belong to a minority race. You can see that every day, and it's common knowledge," Wisser said. [more] and [more] and [more and [more] 

• SEE Video here [more]

Justice Department Should Investigate Police Beating
Now that a jury has weighed in, the U.S. Department of Justice should investigate whether three Austin police officers violated the civil rights of Ramon Hernandez. It took less than two hours for an all-white jury of six people to acquit officers William Bradley Heilman, 31, and Christopher Gray, 28, for beating and using their stun guns on Hernandez while he was handcuffed and facedown on the ground. Rookie officer Joel Follmer, 37, also faces criminal misdemeanor charges for official oppression in a separate case that is pending. The jury's verdict left many people scratching their heads. Like the infamous Rodney King case, the officers had been captured on video punching, kicking and standing on Hernandez's neck. The jury sided with Heilman of Pflugerville, and Gray of Georgetown, who said their actions amounted to self-defense because they were in a life-or-death struggle with Hernandez. The officers asserted that it was necessary to use that kind of force to bring Hernandez under control. Each officer outweighed Hernandez by 70 pounds. [more]

• No Justice: Police CAUGHT On Videotape Means Very Little [more] 

Justice Department should investigate Austin Police Beating

Now that a jury has weighed in, the U.S. Department of Justice should investigate whether three Austin police officers violated the civil rights of Ramon Hernandez. It took less than two hours for an all-white jury of six people to acquit officers William Bradley Heilman, 31, and Christopher Gray, 28, for beating and using their stun guns on Hernandez while he was handcuffed and facedown on the ground. Rookie officer Joel Follmer, 37, also faces criminal misdemeanor charges for official oppression in a separate case that is pending. The jury's verdict left many people scratching their heads. Like the infamous Rodney King case, the officers had been captured on video punching, kicking and standing on Hernandez's neck. The jury sided with Heilman of Pflugerville, and Gray of Georgetown, who said their actions amounted to self-defense because they were in a life-or-death struggle with Hernandez. The officers asserted that it was necessary to use that kind of force to bring Hernandez under control. Each officer outweighed Hernandez by 70 pounds. [more]

ALL-WHITE Jury Chosen to hear Racially Motivated Beating of Black Man by Milwaukee Police

 
Officers' lawyers defend removal of  Black & Latino women
An all-white jury of 10 women and five men was chosen Tuesday to hear the case of three former Milwaukee police officers charged in the beating of Frank Jude Jr., over the strong objections of Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann, who wanted a more diverse panel.
Defendants Jon Bartlett, Daniel Masarik and Andrew Spengler are white. Jude, who is Black says he was subjected to racial slurs during the attack October 2004 in the street outside a party for off-duty officers at Spengler's house in Bay View. Two African-American women were among the final 33 jurors being considered. Defense attorneys said they eliminated the women because one was inattentive and the other couldn't hear well. Defense attorneys noted prosecutors removed two Hispanic women. Circuit Judge David Hansher considered starting the selection over with a different pool of prospective jurors or forcing the two black jurors on the jury. Ultimately, he found the defense's reasons for striking the women from the panel were valid and allowed the jury to be seated. "It looks bad to the public; it would be an all-white jury," Hansher said as he heard arguments about the issues outside the presence of the jury panel. McCann said. "I do not think we have a fair panel."  [more] and [more] and [more]

• THE VANISHING BLACK JUROR [more]
  
• We can do better with juries [more]
• More on the trial directly below
  

Witnesses Recall Man's Beating at hands of Police Officers - Black Man Went to Party with White Women

 
Testimony in the trial of three former Milwaukee police officers has been dominated by issues of identification and discrepancies between statements witnesses made to investigators and in court.

• Witness: Cops planned cover-up after beating unarmed Black man. As a police car approached the scene where several off-duty police officers were allegedly beating an unarmed man, a witness told a 911 operator that she could hear members of the group plotting a cover-up, according to testimony Tuesday. Jurors in the  heard the frantic, profanity-laced 911 call Tuesday that Kristen Antonissen, a college student at the time of the incident, placed as she watched a group of 10 off-duty officers allegedly punch and kick Frank Jude. "They're beating the s--- out of him right now," jurors heard Antonissen shout into the phone. "We're being harassed by cops, and I want my mom here."  In the phone call, the anger in Antonissen's voice turned to shock as she related to the operator the conversations she heard as the squad car appeared in the distance. "They just warned each other that the cops are coming, isn't that f---ing nice," she said. "They're trying to frame him for stealing someone's badge." After the tape ended, Antonissen clarified her statements in the garbled and noisy phone call, which she placed from the street in front of Spengler's house around 2:51 a.m. the morning of Oct. 24, 2004. "[The officers] were saying that they were going to say he was resisting arrest when the cops came," Antonissen testified. "There was also mention of saying it was a traffic stop." [more] and [SEE VIDEO]
  
• Other Witness who Accompanied Jude:  Katie Brown, 24, a financial analyst with a nursing home, and Kirsten Antonissen went to an off-duty officer's party in the Bay View area with Jude and another Black man. As they left after a brief stay, the four were accused of stealing a badge. Brown testified she made the first 911 call, despite instruction from Spengler not to. "I wanted cops in uniforms," Brown said. Brown said she saw Jude on the ground with 10 to 15 people around him, with five kicking and punching him in the head. "They were taking turns," said Brown. "I did not want to watch it. It was disgusting." She said the beating continued after on-duty officers arrived, but that the on-duty officers didn't strike Jude. When Jude was lifted up, "His head was completely covered in blood, his pants were around his ankles and he was cuffed," she said.
• Emergency Room Doctor: In other testimony Thursday, an emergency room doctor who treated Jude the morning of Oct. 24, 2004, testified he had the worst ear injuries she had ever seen in 15 years of practice. Kathleen Shallow said she took pictures of the injuries because there were so many. Besides his ears, Jude had two factures, to his sinus and nasal bone, an eye swollen shut, a grossly swollen hand, marks on his neck consistent with choking and cuts and bruises over much of his face and body, she said. "Mr. Jude had numerous injuries, too numerous to document reliably," Shallow said.
  
• Witness who invited Jude: Army reservist Tina Schultz testified Thursday that she was the conduit through which the victim, Frank Jude Jr., and two of her friends arrived at the ill-fated party in the home of defendant Andrew Spengler. Schultz testified she was a college student in October 2004 when she met Spengler and his friend at a bar and returned to Spengler's home where she had sex with both of them. Schultz and two female friends, Katie Brown and Kirsten Antonissen, arrived at the party at about 2:40 a.m. with Frank Jude and a friend of his who was black. The group was there less than 10 minutes before detecting a "weird vibe" from the mostly white crowd and deciding to leave. "Kirsten leaned over to me and said 'Tina, are these people here prejudiced?'" the 24-year-old witness recalled. The group quickly "stormed" out of the house and piled into Antonissen's truck. Before they could leave, a group from the party surrounded the vehicle and accused them of stealing Spengler's police badge. As the situation escalated, with Spengler ordering the group out of the car and one of the men producing a knife, Schultz testified, she ran back into the house. "I kind of just wanted to leave the situation so I went into the house and curled up on the couch," Schultz testified as the defendants, dressed in crisp suits, sat listening emotionless. "A, I had to pee, and B, I was really scared."
• Milwaukee Police Officer Involved in Beating Case arrested for Failing to Testify. Also Thursday, Joseph Stromei - a former officer fired for his role in the Jude beating - was arrested in the courtroom for failing to honor a subpoena to testify. Stromei had ignored a subpoena and left town, prosecutors said. He came to court Thursday after a warrant was issued. [more] and [more] and [more]

Black Man Beaten Beyond Recognition: Skull Crushed, Killed by Harrison County Officers - Jailer Resigns

• Federal Officials are holding Videotape of the Beating

The attorney for a former jailer accused in the wrongful death of an inmate won't say why the jailer resigned. Ryan Teel, 29, is among five jailers identified in a civil lawsuit as participating in or failing to stop the alleged beating and torture of Jessie Lee Williams Jr. at the Harrison County jail booking room. No charges have been filed, but Teel is accused of delivering the majority of the blows Feb. 4 that left Williams beaten beyond recognition, his skull crushed, and injuries inflicted on even the most private areas of his body, according to medical records and the civil lawsuit. Teel's attorney maintains he is innocent. The attorney for Williams' estate claims the death, ruled a homicide, is the result of "malicious and sadistic acts" performed by officers sworn to protect those awaiting their day in court. Teel is the only jailer placed on leave after Williams' beating. U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton this week confirmed he has advised Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. to remain silent while he cooperates with the multi-agency investigation. The original videotapes are in federal possession, an issue of concern to attorneys for Williams' estate. They haven't been able to get copies, either. "This is not going to stop the civil lawsuit," said attorney Michael W. Crosby, "If we can't get copies, we'll try this case the old-fashioned way, with eyewitness testimony, the way cases have been won for over 200 years, before videotapes were available." Crosby said, however, he is not giving up on gaining access to the tapes. [more] and [more]

•  Lawsuit Filed in Beating Case: Black Man Hogtied, Tortured and Killed by Mississippi Jail Officials [more] 

NAACP: Florida Boot Camp LIED in Death of 15 Year Old Black Boy Suffocated by Corrections Officers

Citing a report from the medical examiner for Escambia County, state NAACP leaders said Wednesday that Bay County juvenile boot camp officials withheld crucial details about Martin Lee Anderson's encounter with guards from doctors who struggled to save his life. The medical legal investigation report states that the 14-year-old was exercising for approximately 15 minutes and passed out after telling guards "I can't do it anymore." But the report does not mention that Anderson was hit, kicked or dragged around an exercise yard during a 30-minute videotaped encounter with guards before an ambulance was called. "The family continues to suffer as they sit back and look at this horror that is just evolving out of this whole thing," said Dale Landry, criminal and juvenile justice chairman for the Florida NAACP. Waylon Graham, an attorney for Lt. Charles Helms, the officer who was second in command of the boot camp, said he believes the report shows the hospital where Anderson died is trying to protect itself from a lawsuit. A nationally known pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, said after observing a second autopsy that Anderson likely was suffocated during the confrontation at the camp. Results of the second autopsy haven't been completed. [more]

• Pictured above: Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, speaks at a news conference in Tallahassee, Fla., about the death of 14-year-old Martin Anderson, shown in photos. [more]
• Sheriffs Plan Boot Camp Changes [more]

Judge says Shooting by Morgan County Sheriffs is Justified: Black Man Caught Selling Beer Shot 13 Times & Refused Medical Treatment

• 63 Year Old White wife called 'nigger lover' by Police and Dragged on the Ground 

A federal lawsuit that alleged Morgan County sheriff's deputies and other authorities used excessive force when they shot and killed suspected bootlegger James Hulett, 53 and abused his 63-year-old wife by forcing her to crawl on her belly while uttering a racial slur about her was dismissed by a federal judge today.  June Hulett, who is white, sought releif from a June 30, 2002 raid that killed her husband, who was black.  A forensic report stated that Hulett's body had 13 bullet holes. The Judge held that the suspect fired first after agents identified themselves. The judge began his written order by noting that June Hulett and her lawyer had presented no evidence beyond that provided by the defendants.  The case began with a recitation of James Hulett's criminal record. Normally such information would be inadmissable, but the defendants claimed that their knowledge of Hulett's record contributed to the amount of force they used during the raid. June Hulett said her husband fired at the officers because a year before, robbers had raided the home. Police records confirmed that fact. The law enforcement officers were not wearing uniforms. Three of 10 officers who were present, including England, entered the house through the front door, and three more came in through the side door. The judge said several entered while yelling "Police!", contradicting claims by June Hulett that the officers didn't identify themselves. The claim asserted that the pistol was fired after her husband had been shot several times and while he lay dying on the floor. Witnesses said the officers kept Hulett handcuffed and would not remove the cuffs for paramedics to properly treat him after he had been shot multiple times. A paramedic report stated that law enforcement officers refused to remove the handcuffs.  The court did not address this issue. Nor did the order mention race. In addition to Hulett's shooting, the lawsuit claimed that the officers abused his wife.  "They instructed Mrs. Hulett, who was sitting on the porch, to get down on her hands and knees but she was experiencing difficulties due to infirmities caused by her age of 63. One of the officers then called her a 'nigger-lover' and instructed her to get all the way down and to crawl on her belly," the lawsuit states.  "As she was crawling toward the steps, one of the officers grabbed her and dragged her down the steps onto the graveled yard. They handcuffed her and placed her near the van."   The Judge's order also did not address the alleged abuse. During the trial she said had no memory of what happened.  [more] and [more]

Chicago Officer testifies against ex-partner in case of Police Beating of Black Man at Housing Project

As he sat in the witness box Tuesday, Chicago Police officer Joseph Groh took the witness stand to testify against his former partner, Chicago Police officer Bryan Vander Mey. Groh testified that it "appeared" to be Vander Mey caught on home video kicking and punching of Rondell Freeman (29) April 17, 2003, outside the Cabrini-Green public housing complex. But Groh, who was also present during the arrest, said he couldn't be "100 percent" certain. Vander Mey sat still during Groh's testimony, never looking directly at his former partner. Vander Mey, who is suspended without pay, is charged with multiple counts each of official misconduct and battery in the beating of Freeman. In exchange for his testimony, Groh was granted immunity from prosecution. On the stand Tuesday, Groh admitted that he also had kicked at Freeman during the arrest. Under defense cross-examination, Groh described a scene of "total chaos" in which police surrounded a van containing Freeman and three other men. Police had an arrest warrant for one of Freeman's passengers. As officers tried to talk the men out of the van, a swarm of people surrounded them, yelling profanities and tossing objects, Groh testified. "I was in fear [for] my life," Groh said. "I'm sure other officers were, too." Groh testified he didn't witness Vander Mey punching or kicking Freeman, but only came to that conclusion after viewing the video multiple times. As defense attorneys played the video in court, Groh repeatedly said the quality was too bad to recognize officers' faces. Groh said he recognized Vander Mey by his "body shape" and by how close Vander Mey was to Groh. The trial is set to resume April 10. [more] and [more] and [more]

Beating victim can't ID which Officer Attacked him
A man who was allegedly beaten in 2003 by a Chicago police officer after holing up inside his van near the Cabrini-Green public housing complex told a judge Monday that he could not identify any of the officers involved. On the stand, Freeman said that before the incident he had attended his grandmother's funeral and had been at a family gathering when he and three friends got into the van. While Freeman was in the driver's seat near Cabrini-Green, a police officer allegedly came up to him, ordered him to get out of the van and slapped him when he refused. Freeman said he tried to drive off but was surrounded by more officers, who ordered him out of the van. He said a sergeant tried to get him to leave the van. "The sergeant told me to get out. I told the sergeant the officer swung and struck me," Freeman said. Freeman, who has since filed a lawsuit against the city and the Police Department, said police eventually broke the windows of his van, sprayed him with Mace and, when he walked out of the van, threw him to the ground. He denied that he tried to hit any of the officers. "I was thrown to the ground face first. I was laying flat on the ground. I was being sprayed with Mace and punched on my back. I was hollering `I can't breathe' ... a lot of times," Freeman said. [more]

• SEE Video [here]
  
• The Racial Politics of Policing in Chicago [more]
  
• Cabrini Residents: Police 'Brutalized' Two Women [more]
• Police Investigate themselves say Excessive Force was used [more]
• 100 Cabrini Residents Clash With Police [more]