Coalition Action Urged to Stop Police Brutality in Milwaukee

We Milwaukeeans of all races who are appalled by the verdict need to organize ourselves now into a multi-racial coalition to: Demand of Mayor Tom Barrett, every member of the Milwaukee Common Council, Clerk of Circuit Courts James Barrett, County Exec. Scott Walker, every member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, and Dist. Atty. E. Michael McCann answers to the following questions:

1. What do you think of the verdict?
2. If you are not satisfied with the verdict, what specific steps will you personally take to prevent this from happening again?
3. Do you believe there exists within the Milwaukee Police Department a culture of  (a) racism, and (b) police impunity?
4. If so, what specific steps will you personally take to (a) get them off the force, (b) prevent racists from joining the MPD in the future, and (c) end "the code of silence" and every other aspect of police impunity in this city?
5. I think those of us who are appalled by this latest example of the complete and utter failure of our local criminal justice system to actually provide justice for all Milwaukeeans regardless of race should call a public meeting downtown soon to talk about where to go from here.  At that meeting, provision should be made for simultaneous interpretation between English, Hmong, and Spanish.
   

Black Milwaukee needs to know that it does not stand alone in this moment. The recent (lagely Latino) protest in defense of the undocumented shows the enormous potential for action within that community.  Combined with the rage undoubtedly being felt universally within the black community, along with the many white, Asian, and Native American Milwaukeeans appalled by the verdict, at this moment we can and must build a very broad movement for change. - Submitted by Anthony Rupert

• Milwaukee Police Shooting Probe of Latino Man to begin in June - Unarmed Latino Man Shot 8 Times in the Back [more]
  
• Black Soldier Says he Was Beaten by Milwaukee Police - On Break from Iraq [more]
• Hmong Community Want Justice in Milwaukee Police Killing of Tou Yang [more]
• Milwaukee Cop who Shot Black Man to Death will not Face Criminal Charges [more]
  

Settlement Reached in Deadly LAPD Shooting of 13 Year Old Black Boy

• Devin Brown Shot 7 Times by Los Angeles Police.
  

The city of Los Angeles has reached a tentative financial settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit over the police killing of 13-year-old Devin Brown.  Officials declined to disclose the sum that would go to Brown's mother, Evelyn Davis, but three sources familiar with the case said it was at least $1.5 million. The boy was shot to death -- struck by seven bullets -- as he backed a stolen Toyota Camry toward a Los Angeles Police Department patrol car at about 4 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2005, at the end of a brief car chase in South Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Commission ruled in February that Garcia violated departmental rules and should face possible discipline for the shooting. Investigators estimated that Brown was driving 10 to 12 mph when he scraped the passenger side of Garcia's cruiser, and 2 mph or less when the officer, who had scrambled out of the way of the car, opened fire. The Brown family lawsuit said Garcia was never in danger, and it alleged negligence in the city's hiring, training and supervision of the officer. After the teenager's death, the Police Commission imposed restrictions on shooting at moving vehicles. Officers must first try to get out of the way of the vehicle. If that proves impossible, or if there is another deadly threat — a gun — they may shoot. The settlement was reached Tuesday as attorneys prepared for an April 24 trial date. The City Council is scheduled to consider approving the settlement July 1. [more] and [more]

• Pictured above: (left) 13 year old Devin Brown and (right) a man who identified himself as General Maxwell shows a sign to LAPD officers driving past 83rd and Western [more] 

Investigation Underway in NJ Park Police Shooting of Unarmed Native American Man

 

It took 1 Hour for Medical Help to Arrive Even though Ambulance was only 1 mile away

Bergen County's prosecutor John Molinelli says New Jersey's state park police made significant errors in judgment last weekend in an altercation with members of the Ramapo Indian tribe. One tribe member was seriously wounded and a second is in police custody. Molinelli said that his investigation indicates three New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection police officers were not in their jurisdiction on Saturday when they confronted a group of Ramapough tribe members riding ATVs in a remote part of the Ramapo Mountains. 43 year old Emil Mann was shot twice by one of the DEP officers. He was at Hackensack University Medical Center until he died yesterday, shortly after noon. The incident has lead to allegations of wrongdoing from all sides. Tribe members said they considered Mr. Mann's shooting the latest assault upon their community, which has been engaged in a prolonged battle with Ford Motor Company over the dumping of paint sludge in the area. Ford's Mahwah plant closed in 1980, and the area was declared clean in 1994, but it has required three or four additional cleanups. Residents have attributed numerous health problems to the pollution. The Ramapough tribe claims the shooting was racially motivated. Agnes Mann, a distant cousin of Emil Mann, said she was told that he was holding his arms up and asking, "What did I do?" when he was shot. "They had no business shooting anybody, no reason for doing that," she said.They also say the police response was extreme and the emergency response slow. Police and hospital officials released 911 transcripts and records yesterday showing a timeline of the emergency response. Records show that one hour and one minute passed between the first 911 call, at 4:34 p.m. The transcripts also show that an ambulance was staged more than a mile from the scene of the shooting.  According to members of the tribe who were at the scene, Park Police officers stood about as Mann lay bleeding.[more] and [more]

• Family may sue in Ramapough's shooting death [more]
  

Code of Silence: Milwaukee Police Tell LIES at Brutality Trial - Defenseless, Handcuffed Black Man Beaten by Cops

 
Defense Rests: All White Jury Ready for Closing Arguments [more]
The second of three off-duty Milwaukee police officers accused of severely beating a man testified Monday afternoon that he worked to detain the man, but didn't strike him in the head. Jon Bartlett said he helped other off-duty officers try to arrest Frank Jude Jr. because they thought he had stolen a police badge from the house where they were partying. Bartlett said he struck Jude numerous times in the body in areas police training allows, and that it was the first on-duty responding officer who kicked Jude in the head. Bartlett is accused of holding a knife to Jude's neck, but he said Monday that he did not do that. He did not regret using "justified force" against the alleged victim, whom he characterized as a resistant and hostile theft suspect. Bartlett, 34, conceded that he regretted using a knife to cut Jude's jacket off him, as the 26-year-old struggled against his efforts to detain him. "I don't like the fact that I cut his jacket," said Bartlett, a five-year veteran of the force when he was dismissed in 2005 for his involvement in the incident. "It seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

• White Cops Don't Know Nuthin: Earlier in the day, another of the off-duty officers testified he didn't touch Jude. Masarik testified he was aware of the confrontation taking place outside, but in keeping with a pattern of testimony from most other police witnesses at the scene, Masarik also denied seeing any acts of violence against Jude. Daniel Masarik told jurors in Milwaukee County Circuit Court that he was on the phone or was walking in and out of the house when Jude was beaten. A college student who invited Jude to the party made a 911 phone call at 2:48 a.m. to report that several men, including Masarik, were beating him because they suspected him of stealing Spengler's badge from his home. But Masarik's cellphone records indicated that at 2:48 a.m., he was hanging up on his second five-minute phone call with his wife, following a previous call which began around 2:38 a.m. and ended at 2:43 a.m. [more] and [more]
• Anti-Snitch Campaign: A police witness in the trial of three former Milwaukee officers broke into tears Thursday while testifying about the treatment she received from colleagues after she implicated the white defendants in the alleged beating of a black man."I was repeatedly called a rat. I had doors slammed in my face," Officer Nicole Martinez Belmore told jurors as she wiped away tears. Belmore testified in Milwaukee District Court Thursday that the apparent retribution began shortly after she reported seeing off-duty officers Jon Bartlett, Daniel Masarik and Andrew Spengler on top of alleged victim Frank Jude, when she responded to a theft call outside Spengler's home at about 3 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2004. While the other officers have testified that they saw the defendants attempt to detain the combative suspect while they waited for uniformed officers to arrive, nearly all of them have stopped short of claiming they witnessed the brutal beating Jude claims he was subjected to. Belmore testified Thursday that after Jude was handcuffed, she saw Bartlett kick the 26-year-old black male in the head, emitting cracking noises from his head, as he lay in the street. She also said she saw the officer hold a knife to Jude's neck and threaten to kill him if he did not give up the badge. Belmore claimed Masarik told her, "I'm sorry you have to see this," before proceeding to raise Jude's leg and kick him twice in the groin, causing him to writhe in pain. The stoic witness turned emotional when she testified how, after the defendants' booking photos were released, someone at the police department stuck copies of them with hearts drawn on them all over her locker. She also recalled that once while patrolling alone, she called for police help, but no one came. [more]
• Pictured above: During his testimony, Jude held up the pair of pants he was wearing the night of the incident. Prosecutors allege that Jon Bartlett used his knife to cut them open from the cuff to the seat of his pants. Jude testified that he could feel the blade of the knife pressed near his anus. 
  
• Why in the hell should anyone in the community trust the police department? [more]
• Milwaukee Where is Your Outrage?   Invisible Black "leaders" urge calm, no matter what the verdict  [more] and [more]
  

New Orleans Police Beat Down Black Woman for Running Stop Sign

The Wife of a Black Officer Pulled out of car by her hair 
New Orleans' police department, its image already suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is investigating new allegations of brutality: claims that three white officers beat up the wife of a black officer this week. The probe comes less than a week after two former officers _ both white _ were indicted on felonies in the French Quarter beating of a black retired teacher, violence caught by an Associated Press news crew covering the storm's aftermath in October. On Wednesday, Jonie Pratt had a black eye, a swollen forehead and a brace on her fractured left wrist. Pratt's mother-in-law, Dulcie Scott, said the injuries were inflicted after police pulled Pratt over, claiming she ran a stop sign. Pratt is the wife of Desmond Pratt, a 10-year veteran of the police department, and sister of officer Nancy Parker, a three-year member of the force. "It's my understanding that one of the officers spoke the word 'black' during the incident," said Lt. Simon Hargrove, president of the Black Organization of Police. "Why would a person do that if race wasn't involved?" The FBI said it is conducting a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the case warrants further investigation. Pratt was charged with flight from an officer, battery, resisting arrest, running a stop sign and making an illegal turn. The woman drove to her house in a middle-class area of the city before pulling over. "I saw an officer pull Jonie out of the car by her hair," said Scott, who was baby-sitting her grandchildren at the couple's house. "He was swearing at her and pounding her into the car. I said, 'Stop that, that's Officer Pratt's wife.'" Scott said the officer twisted Pratt's arms behind her and sprayed Mace in her face. She said that two more white officers arrived and that the three shoved the 5-foot-2 Pratt to the ground and knelt on her back, and an officer kicked her in the head. The white officers refused to believe that Pratt, a schoolteacher on leave since Katrina, lived in the house she claimed was hers, Scott said. [more]

• Citizen panel to advise New Orleans police [more]
  

 
Charges dropped against Black man Beaten by New Orleans police 
The retired teacher whose beating by New Orleans police officers was caught on videotape says prosecutors have decided to drop the charges that had been filed against him. Robert Davis had pleaded not guilty to charges including public intoxication, resisting arrest and battery on a police officer and public intimidation. His lawyer had said last month that he expected the charges to be dropped. Two officers are charged with battery against Davis, while a third is charged with battery against a reporter who witnessed the October incident. An Associated Press Television News crew covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina captured it on video. [more]

Chicago Police Officer Not Guilty in 2003 Beating of Black Man: Video Recording Not Good Enough

 
A Chicago Police officer on trial in the videotaped beating of a man outside the Cabrini-Green public housing complex was found not guilty of all the charges against him Tuesday.As Judge Joseph Kazmierski announced the verdict, more than a dozen supporters of officer Bryan Vander Mey -- including other Chicago Police officers -- burst into loud applause in the 26th and California courtroom. In a very brief statement, Kazmierski said he agreed with the trial witnesses who described the grainy videotape footage as unclear and chaotic. Afterward, a tearful Vander Mey hugged supporters, including his wife, with whom he had been sitting hand in hand prior to the judge's decision Tuesday. Vander Mey was charged with multiple counts each of official misconduct and battery in the April 17, 2003, beating of Rondell Freeman, 29. At the time, police had an arrest warrant for a man accompanying Freeman. During the trial, Vander Mey's police partner, Joseph Groh, testified that it "appeared" to be Vander Mey on the home-made video. But Groh said he couldn't be 100 percent sure, and he testified he never actually witnessed Vander Mey beat anyone. No officers testified they witnessed Vander Mey strike Freeman.[more]

Families Of Latino Men Shot Dead by Chicago Police File Lawsuit

 
The families of two men who were killed on the Northwest Side last week are suing the off-duty police officer who shot them.On Friday, Kenny Elrod and Demitri Cantera were in a vehicle at Belmont and Kilpatrick. They were sitting at a light next to an off-duty police officer in a hummer. Investigators say both men pointed guns at the officer. the officer then opened fire, killing them. Police say his life was in danger. The victims' families don't agree. "The City of Chicago was so quick to determine this is a justified shooting, but there are a lot of things that do not smell right in this case," said Greg Kulis, families' attorney. The families of both men filed a lawsuit to learn what evidence police have in the case. The families are also hoping a video camera can show them what happened. It’s atop a building that overlooks the intersection where the shootings happened. Their attorney served a subpoena at the building. Investigators are also looking into whether an alleged confrontation between the three men at a bar earlier that evening triggered the shooting. [more] and [more] and [more] and [more]

Black Man Seen Beaten by St. Louis Police on Video Starts Jail Sentence: Locked Up for Smoking Weed

A Black man who led police on a wild chase Jan. 30 that ended in a televised encounter with four police officers was taken from a courtroom in handcuffs at 10:35 a.m. today to begin a three-year prison sentence. The prison sentence for Edmon Burns, 33, of north St. Louis County, is unrelated to the chase and alleged beating that a KTVI-Fox helicopter cameraman captured on video. On March 23, Burns admitted before St. Louis County Circuit Judge John Ross that he had violated conditions of his probation by using marijuana between Dec. 31 and Jan. 13. In revoking probation, Ross sentenced Burns today to a year in jail on the non-support charge, a year in custody for theft and three years on the escape charge. The judge ran the charges concurrently. The hearing lasted five minutes. Other than traffic violations, authorities have yet to charge Burns - or anyone else -- in the morning rush hour chase on Jan. 30 that ended with television video showing three Maplewood and one St. Louis police officer punching and kicking Burns. An FBI investigation is continuing. Burns' attorney, Andrew Hale, said a civil suit Burns is contemplating against authorities is also awaiting the results of the FBI probe. [more]

• SEE Video here [more]
  
• St. Louis: TV chopper's live broadcast of vicious police beating rattles city [more] and [more]
• Crowd protests beating [more]
  

Oakland Pays $1.5 million to Black Man Paralyzed in Confrontation with Police

The Oakland City Council Tuesday night agreed to pay $1.5 million to a man who was injured while fleeing from police in 2003. Randy Murphy, who sued the city in federal court alleging the officers used excessive force, was standing on a street corner in West Oakland on Oct. 23, 2003, when he was approached by police officers who believed he was on parole or probation, said Chief Assistant City Attorney Barbara J. Parker. The officers believed they saw Murphy, then 28, swallow cocaine in an attempt to avoid arrest and prosecution, Parker added. A scuffle followed, and Murphy fled, jumping over a fence; however, Murphy fell and landed on his head, injuring his spine and causing permanent damage, she said. Murphy, who was paralyzed, will need professional care for the rest of his life, Parker said. No cocaine was found, she added. The settlement is among the largest awarded to an individual by the city in a police misconduct case in the past several years. [more]

Amended Lawsuit Filed in Case of Black Man Hog-Tied & Beaten into Coma Death by Mississippi Jailers

$150 million in actual and punitive damages. That's what  a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court is asking for the family of Jesse Lee Williams, Jr. The wrongful death suit alleges a torturous death of Williams at the hands of two Harrison County jailers. It names Ryan Teel, the son of former Judge Wes Teel, as the main jailer involved. The suit also names Deputy Regina Rhodes as an accomplice and says a third jailer, Deputy Morgan Thompson, who was in the booking room of the jail, did nothing to stop the February 4th beating that caused William's death. Harrison County's coroner ruled the death was a homicide, but so far, no arrests have been made. The suit also names a dozen other defendants including Harrison County, its Sheriff George Payne and two nurses who were said to be in the room. The lawsuit also alleges 54 other counts of abuse in the Harrison County Jail, and claims Ryan Teel was involved in 11 of them. [more]

• Text of Amended Lawsuit [here]
• SEE Hospital "Death Summary" [here]
• Pictured above: "Human Suitcase" This picture is a depiction made of the booking room on the night of February 4, 2006, based upon witness statements, in which Jessie Lee Williams, Jr. was hog-tied, shackled (hands to feet), sack on head, blood dripping from the beating, and carried like a human suitcase -soon to be slammed/dropped on his face -two times. [more]

Pittsburg Officer Videotaped Punching Black man after being bear-hugged

A city police officer punched a man in the head after the man bear-hugged him in a scuffle caught on videotape Thursday at the scene of a fatal shooting. Police didn't immediately identify the officer or the man seen on the video, which was shown on WTAE-TV. The man was led away in handcuffs, but it wasn't immediately clear if police filed charges against him. The television station had a reporter and cameraman at the scene interviewing people about what police described as a drive-by shooting Wednesday night that killed Franklin Sheffey Jr., 16, and injured two other people. The scene grew chaotic when police pulled up, grabbed one man and handcuffed him. After that, the officer scuffled with the second man as several people looked on. [more]

• SEE VIdeo [more]

Fleeing Hawaiian Man Gunned Down by Big Island Police

Twenty-eight year-old Thane Leialoha was shot while trying to run from a corrections officer on his way back to prison Tuesday afternoon.  He was killed by a bullet to the head in downtown Hilo.  Friends and family claim the corrections officer went too far. Sabrina Kauai, Leialoha's girlfriend, said a witness told her Leialoha shoved the corrections officer to the ground before fleeing down Haili Street in a brown prison jumpsuit. Kauai said the witness reported that the officer fired from a sitting position and that the single shot struck Leialoha in the back of the head." The cops used excessive force," . "They didn't have to shoot him, never had to shoot him in his head." "We don't have enough facts to answer that," said prominent criminal attorney Earle Partington. "He may have, he may not have." Partington says it's too early to tell without a detailed account of what happened which neither the Big Island Police Department nor the Department of Public Safety, which is in charge of the state's corrections officers, will release currently.  But whether the use of force was excessive depends on the guidelines in the Hawaii Revised Statutes.  Witnesses have said there were people in the area Tuesday afternoon. "Shooting a gun in downtown Hilo, to me, affords a substantial risk that someone on the street or in one of the buildings nearby could get shot," said Partington. "I think this will probably be basis of any legal action brought by the family." Third, an officer can shoot if an inmate is escaping from a jail, prison or a detention facility.  There is some question whether a transport vehicle would count. Big Island Police and D.P.S. continue their investigation.  An autopsy of Leialoha is expected to be released Friday. [more] and [more]

Jacksonville Police Fatally Shoot Armed Black man in the Back: Police Claim Self Defense

Imagine being at home when suddenly police start shooting outside your door. One family in northwest Jacksonville ran for cover yesterday, as officers gunned down a suspect who was also wielding a gun. "They just killed him. They shot him in the back," says resident Paulette Williams. Williams ran inside and watched in horror as a Jacksonville police officer shot and killed a suspect right on her front porch. The suspect was 43-year-old Kerry Robinson. Police were called out to his northwest Jacksonville store in response to an alleged fight he was having with his girlfriend. Police say Robinson decided to run, first leading them on a short car chase that led the action to Williams yard. “I heard something running through my backyard, and I started hearing gunshots and I told my children to run,” says Williams. While on the run, police say Robinson shot at Officer Terrance Reed. Investigators say Reed, a 15-year veteran, fired back in self defense. Robinson died at the hospital. [more] and [more]

Florida Bill memorializes Black Teenagers Boot Camp Suffocation Death

• Will More Training Prevent Redneck Officers from Killing Black Youths? 

Improving training and operating standards for juvenile boot camps with an act named for Martin Lee Anderson would be a fitting memorial to the teenager who died after his videotaped beating at a Bay County boot camp, members of the legislative black caucus said Friday. The lawmakers also announced plans for two events focusing public attention on the events of Jan. 5, when guards kneed and punched the boy. Florida A&M and Florida State University students have organized a forum on the case Wednesday, and a mass rally is set for April 21 in the Capitol courtyard. State Rep. Curtis Richardson, D-Tallahassee, said the House "took a bold step" by naming the reform legislation "The Martin Lee Anderson Act of 2006."  The bill requires staff training and uniform standards for restraint and use of force. Sens. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, and Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, said they will push the bill (HB 5019) hard in the Senate when lawmakers return from the Passover-Easter break on April 17. [more]

• Chief says his hands were tied on camp's use of force. Florida's juvenile justice chief says there was little he could have done to intervene in the aggressive use of force on kids at a juvenile boot camp, prompting a lawmaker to question his honesty. [more]
  
• Pictured above: Boot-camp case stirs students - FAMU, FSU students call for justice at forum [more]
  

C.A. Revives Negligence Suit in Fatal Shooting by Pomona Police: Latino Man Shot 22 Times

A federal court verdict on an excessive-use-of-force claim under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 does not bar a suit for negligence in state court, the Court of Appeal for this district ruled yesterday. The justices reinstated an action by the family of George Hernandez against the City ofPomona and four of its officers. Hernandez, a 30-year-old father of seven, was killed in January 2001 after he led police on a 100-mph chase fromPomona to Ontario, crashed his car, and ran from the officers. Hernandez was shot 22 times during a foot chase in Ontario. “We hold the doctrine of res judicata does not apply to the case before us,” Justice Earl Johnson Jr. wrote for the court. “The primary right at issue in the section 1983 action was Hernandez’s right under the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable seizure of his person. The primary right in the negligence action is Hernandez’s right to be free from injury to his person. That some of the same facts are involved in both actions is not determinative; the significant factor is the nature of the harm.  The nature of the harm in the former action was the violation of a constitutionally protected right.  The nature of the harm in the latter action is the violation of a common law right.” Attorneys for the family sued in federal court after the city rejected their $5 million tort claim. The complaint alleged that all four officers fired at Hernandez after he turned toward them and raised his hand in the air to indicate he was unarmed [more] and [more]

What does it take for an Austin Cop to be held legally responsible for his actions in this city?

• Caught on Video: Unarmed, Faced Down, Handcuffed Latino Man Beat Down by Police = Jury Acquits 

The question is hardly rhetorical, in the wake of a jury's acquittal last week of APD Officer Christopher Gray and former Officer William Heilman (with another officer yet to be tried) on charges of "official oppression," after their arrest and beating of a handcuffed Ramon Hernandez last September – much of it caught on APD videotape. As the trial proceeded, local TV featured repeated viewings of a final sequence, as described by Chronicle reporter Jordan Smith: "In total, Gray delivers 14 punches to Hernandez's kidney area; while [Officer Joel] Follmer straddles Hernandez, apparently delivering at least one additional drive-stun Taser shot to Hernandez's legs; and Heilman stands with his boot on Hernandez's shoulder, keeping Hernandez pressed into the dirt." That description is in fact antiseptic – Hernandez is visibly helpless, cuffed and face-down on the ground, and Gray's relentless punches are delivered with all his strength, while the other officers barely have room to get in their own shots. As Smith points out, at a minimum, the officers violated the official APD Taser policy; whatever else happened, they were undoubtedly lucky that they didn't injure Hernandez more seriously. [more]

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

Black man's $100,000 Judgment Against Orlando Police in Taser Case Overturned

A federal judge has overturned a $100,000 verdict against an Orlando police officer who a jury found had violated the civil rights of a motorist he stopped and shot with a Taser in 2003. U.S. District Judge Anne Conway threw out the award against Officer Jonathan Cute, ruling that it wasn't legally allowed because jurors concluded Cute had a valid reason to stop Dontray Chaney for an allegedly obscured license plate, a non-arrestable traffic offense. After the stop, just off Mercy Drive in a low-income neighborhood on Orlando's west side, an angry Chaney refused to produce his drivers license. Ultimately, Cute, who is white, threw the black man to the ground and twice used his Taser, which temporarily paralyzes a suspect with a 50,000-volt charge of electricity. A gathering crowd then forced police to whisk Chaney out of the area. The jury that awarded Chaney $100,000 had "concluded that Officer Cute had probable cause and the authority to make the arrest," Conway wrote in a 24-page order dated Friday and made public Monday. "The authority to make an arrest permits an officer to use reasonable force." In addition, she wrote, Cute was entitled to a "qualified-immunity" defense protecting government employees from being sued personally because he acted within the law and did not use excessive force. Orlando police have fired the controversial stun guns more than 1,200 times in the past three years. The city of Orlando, also named as a defendant in the suit over questions of its police training policies, was cleared of liability by the jury and again by Conway. In March, the jury of seven whites and one black agonized for 15 hours over a verdict form they found complicated and confusing. [more]

• Jury rules against Orlando Police Officer in Taser case - Black Man Slammed Down & Shocked [more] 

Black Man's Suit Against Amarillo Police & Taser International Dismissed on Procedural Grounds: Lawyer Didn't File Timely Response

An Amarillo attorney representing the parents of a man who died after police shot and used a TASER on him in 2003 said he is mulling his appellate options after their wrongful death lawsuit was dismissed Monday. U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson granted the city of Amarillo's motion for summary judgment Monday, citing lack of timely response from the couple's attorney, John Mann. On April 16, 2003, police fired two bullets and multiple TASER shots at Corey Clark as he repeatedly attempted to flee from police while driving a reportedly stolen car, according to court records. Clark died. However, an autopsy ruled that his death was due to acute cocaine intoxication, court documents show. Clark's parents - Donald and Betty Clark - sued Amarillo Police Sgt. Phil Dean, five officers, TASER International Inc. and the city of Amarillo, alleging that the city's policies governing the use of TASER guns allowed for the "unconstitutional use of excessive force,". The plaintiffs failed to prove excessive force, Robinson's judgment states. "Further, plaintiffs have come forth with no evidence of a pattern of earlier uses of excessive force during the execution of arrests similar to what plaintiffs allege occurred in this case," the judgment states. Dean, the officers and TASER International were dropped from the case last year. As the last defendant, the city filed for summary judgment Dec. 23. "I didn't think their motion was meritorious," Mann said, explaining why he didn't file a response. "I thought we had created (a case) of fact as to the dangerous propensities of the weapon as a matter of law," Mann said. [more] and  [more]

Black pastors call for Eaton County sheriff's office review

The leader of the Clergy Forum of Greater Lansing - a group of 24 local black pastors - asked this morning for an extensive investigation into Eaton County sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Lutz and all his cases involving African Americans. Melvin Jones, president of the group, was surrounded by about six pastors in front of West Town Plaza in Delta Township - where Lutz allegedly shot himself in the arm March 20, according to authorities. He blamed the incident on a fictitious black man. "We believe that the delicate balance of community trust has been broken by this incident and that a thorough internal investigation of the sheriff's department is needed to restore confidence in the integrity of the department and its ability to serve a diverse population," Jones said today. Jones said he would talk to the Eaton County Sheriff's Office as early as this afternoon about the group's concerns. Lutz was arraigned Tuesday on two felonies, filing a false report and shooting at a police vehicle. Lutz's claim that a black male shot him led to a massive manhunt that closed schools and the surrounding neighborhood. [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] 
  

No criminal charges against Roanoke Police officer in Shooting Latino Man

A Roanoke police officer who shot a Hispanic man will not face criminal charges. 44-year-old Antonio Gomez Navarro was shot in the back February 26th. Officers said they were trying to get Navarro out of his car, when officer Randolph Rowland's gun went off. Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell told News-7 this afternoon that blood work from Navarro showed the man had a blood/alcohol level of point .28. That's nearly four times the legal limit for driving under the influence. Caldwell says it's his opinion the shooting was not a criminal act and the test confirms what officers and witnesses said that Navarro was impaired. [more]