7 Months Later: Austin Police Officers Caught on Video Beating Unarmed, Handcuffed Latino Man Given Light Punishment

 
An Austin police officer caught on tape beating a handcuffed suspect will face disciplinary action starting Thursday. This comes after a jury cleared him of any wrongdoing last month. It might sound like an about face situation, but starting Thursday, 28-year-old Officer Christopher Gray starts a 70-day suspension for his use of force. A police car dash cam captured video of three officers arresting and beating 25-year-old Ramon Hernandez after he left the scene of an accident, resisted arrest and reached for an officer's gun. In the video, you can see Gray punch Hernandez 14 times in the lower back while he's handcuffed. Just last month, a jury cleared him and a second officer of official oppression. Late Wednesday, the department's disciplinary review board took its own action, suspending Gray without pay for 70 days. Hernandez's attorney, Amber Vasquez Bode, said that Wednesday's disciplinary action is late. "I find it disturbing that it took seven months before APD took any measures at all," Bode said. She argues the system is plagued by accountability problems and that few knew the videotape existed. She also argues no Austin police officer has ever been convicted under the official oppression statute. "I don't think there is one solution for this. I think we're going to have to come together as a community and lay down the standards. This is how we're going to hold officers accountable in Austin," Bode said. After the suspension, Gray will be able to return to the force. Travis County prosecutors also dismissed the official oppression charge against rookie Austin police officer Joel Follmer, who had been indicted in the videotaped beating of a handcuffed suspect last year. Follmer, 38 was shown on the video delivering a series of punches to the back of Ramon Hernandez's legs on Sept. 21. Hernandez said during the trial that he is considering filing a civil lawsuit against the city. [MORE] and [MORE]

FBI Probing Alleged Denver Police Beating of Black Man: Armstrong was in Schiavo Like Coma

The FBI has been asked to investigate allegations that Denver police beat Thomas Charles Armstrong, putting him a life-threatening coma while trying to arrest him last November, Armstrong’s brother said today. Earl Armstrong announced the investigation this morning after his brother was arraigned on charges of resisting arrest. Thomas Armstrong, 37, pleaded not guilty and is due back in court May 30. A trial is set for August. Thomas Armstrong was hospitalized for more than two weeks after the Nov. 11 confrontation with police. Armstrong’s attorney, Walter Gerash, has filed a notice of intent to sue the city for police use of excessive force during the arrest. The complaint alleges that Armstrong suffered kidney and liver failure, internal hemorrhaging, a fractured nose and numerous cuts and bruises. Denver police have denied any wrongdoing. Armstrong said he was walking to a convenience store from his girlfriend’s house when he was confronted by officer Daniel Swanson and handcuffed. Police say Armstrong lunged at officer Swanson after the patrolman saw him acting strangely near East 11th Avenue and Zenia Street. Armstrong became unresponsive and stopped breathing after he was handcuffed, police said. Earl Armstrong said the FBI is investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrest of his brother and other allegations of harassment of his family and Earl Armstrong because of his political activism. [MORE]

• Armstrong in court over police skirmish [MORE]
• Pictured above: Pictures of the badly beaten body of Thomas Charles Armstrong, 37, as he clings to life in a coma after sustaining a brutal attack by the Denver Police [MORE]

Emporia officer cleared in Fatal Police Shooting of Black teenager - Feds Take up Case

 
U.S. mediators meet with NAACP, police in black teen's slaying
Police officials and the NAACP, which has called for a federal investigation into the shooting death of a black youth by a policeman, met with U.S. mediators yesterday. Last week, Greensville County Commonwealth's Attorney Patricia Watson cleared officer Richard Walker of any wrongdoing in the death of 14-year-old Jermaine Bell, a black youth, who was killed on the last day of 2005. The shooting was investigated by the state police, which presented its findings to Watson. Walker was placed on paid administrative leave at the time of the shooting, but has since returned to duty. In response to Watson's decision, state NAACP officials and representatives of the Greensville-Emporia branch held a news conference in Richmond and called for a federal investigation into whether the youth's civil rights were violated. The group announced at last week's news conference that the Department of Justice team would visit the community. Garry Allen, vice president of the local NAACP, told the City Council during a meeting last week,"We're not pleased whatsoever with the results [of the investigation]. We just feel like it's the usual cover-up." Vice Mayor Mary Person, who is one of three blacks on the seven-member council, said that members "feel your pain" but have no jurisdiction over the commonwealth's attorneys office. If they did, she said, "Some of us on here would definitely be pushing for something different to happen." Watson noted in a summary of events surrounding the shooting that after breaking up a fight between Bell and someone else, Walker followed Bell into the apartment complex where he lived and heard someone yelling about a knife. Walker saw Bell struggling with a woman as if she was trying to hold him back. With a large knife in his hand, Bell approached the officer and said, "You'll have to shoot me." Walker drew his gun and continued to ask Bell to drop the knife, but Bell continued to approach the officer until he dropped the knife and grabbed the end of the officer's weapon, Watson's summary noted. The officer fired one shot. But black leaders insist there are a number of discrepancies that need to be addressed. These include the contention that the youth held the knife by his side and never dropped it or reached for the officer's gun, and that Bell was shot as he stood in the doorway to his aunt's apartment, not inside. Black leaders also insist there was no tussle going on inside the apartment. "What is reported doesn't even make sense," Debra Brown, president of the Greensville-Emporia NAACP branch, said after Tuesday's council meeting. "It's got too many holes in it." "Somebody is lying somewhere," she said. "I'm not taking sides. I want to get to the truth." City officials, who have downplayed race as an issue, appealed yesterday to its residents, most of whom are black, to let the city heal. [MORE] and [MORE] and [MORE]

NO Arrests, NO Timeline in Jesse Lee Williams Case: Black Man Brutally Beaten to Death by Mississippi Officers

A joint investigation such as the probe into the death of Jessie Lee Williams Jr. could result in state and federal charges or only one agency taking the lead. The process, according to attorney Robert Pfeffer, is not uncommon, nor does it usually involve a "double jeopardy" issue. A wrongful death lawsuit filed for Williams' estate claims Williams, 40, was beaten and tortured by jailers acting under color of law, depriving him of his civil, constitutional and human rights. It's been 103 days since Williams was beaten in the Harrison County booking room. No charges have been filed in the incident, which was captured on surveillance tapes. Attorneys for Williams' estate, which seeks $150 million in the civil lawsuit, have not been allowed to view the tapes. According to Pfeffer, formerly an attorney in Jackson and New York City, state and federal prosecutors often investigate a case jointly, "then decide whether to proceed simultaneously or let the other take the lead so there is no duplication of resources." There are exceptions, though, Pfeffer said, pointing to the Rodney King case, in which four Los Angeles police officers were accused on state charges of assaulting King in 1991. The incident was captured on videotape. "When the state failed to get convictions," Pfeffer said, "the federal government tried the case on federal statutes that involve violation of civil rights." State and federal officials have released no details of their investigations in the Williams case or a time frame for a grand jury. A motion filed on Sheriff George H. Payne's behalf to delay the civil case states Payne believes a grand jury review could occur in 60 to 90 days, or by August. [MORE]

Vigil a show of support for Black Man Beaten to Death by Mississippi Jailers

A candlelight vigil Monday aims to provide comfort and hope to the community and to the children of Jessie Lee Williams Jr., said attorneys lamenting the lack of arrests in his fatal beating. Monday is the 100th day since the booking-room incident at the Harrison County jail, where corrections officers allegedly delivered the deadly blows on Feb. 4 while Williams, 40, was restrained. The death of Williams, father of seven, was ruled a homicide. Attorneys for Williams' estate said they expect the vigil to be a peaceful gathering of a cross-section of the community in support of justice. Organizers wanted to have the vigil at the jail but declined after Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. issued guidelines allowing no more than 50 people, requiring their Social Security numbers, providing only 10 parking spaces and a warning that anyone obstructing entries or exits would be arrested. Attorneys said they expect no problems at the Courthouse. Attorney John Whitfield said the silence "is morally and legally reprehensible and unacceptable. We cannot change the system without changing the people running the system." [MORE]

Las Vegas Police Offer No Explanation for Shooting Handcuffed Black Teenager in the Back

Metro is investigating the connection between a body found in the desert over the weekend and the deadly officer involved shooting that claimed the life of a teenager. Kyle Staheli's bullet-ridden, burned body was discovered in the desert over the weekend. The 18-year-old did have a connection with Swuave Lopez, who was shot and killed by police. Lopez was in handcuffs and shot in the back after he escaped from a police car and ran. On Saturday, two Metro detectives arrested 17-year-old Lopez and James Carter Junior in connection with the shooting death of Staheli. Las Vegas Metro Police won't say why detectives felt they had to shoot a handcuffed 17-year-old. Deputy Chief Greg McCurdy says Lopez was left in the front seat of a detective’s car. McCurdy adds that Lopez was able to get his handcuffed hands in front of his body, open the car door and run. "Once the suspect was in the car, the detective stepped to the back of his trunk to retrieve something for another detective, McCurdy explained. He adds the detective looked up to see Lopez running away and that's when Metro fired at him. Lopez's grandmother said, "he's supposed to be a suspect in a murder and they put him in a police car, but nobody watches him? Did they want him to run so they could kill him?"  Police said it could take weeks to determine whether two Las Vegas homicide detectives violated state law or departmental policy in the fatal shooting. In the last year, Metro has had 14 police shootings. Twelve were ruled justified, 2 were ruled excusable, none were considered criminal. [MORE] and [MORE]

Unarmed African Man Shot Multiple Times by Omaha Police: Witnesses Say Sessou Wasn't Driving At Officer

The man shot by an off-duty Omaha police officer has been released from the hospital and arrested. Koko Sessou allegedly accelerated his car toward Officer David Brumagen. Authorities said Brumagen fired into the driver-side window. Brumagen is a 12-year veteran of the Omaha Police Department. Authorities said that on Saturday night Brumagen was working as a security guard while he was off duty for Eli's Bar and Grill in Rockbrook Village. The bar owner said that a group of men were in their cars harassing women when Brumagen and another off-duty officer confronted the men. Brumagen is on leave pending an internal investigation. Sessou was booked Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree felony assault on a police officer and first-degree felony assault. Sessou's attorney, James Martin Davis, disputes the police account of the story. He said the evidence shows that the second shot was fired from behind Sessou, and that his client never set out to run over the officer. Davis said the officer can not claim self-defense. "The angle of the bullets show he was hit on the side, and it went through his back," Davis said. "The passenger window on the driver side was shattered. That's physical evidence that the officer was not in front of that vehicle." Davis gathered some witnesses of the incident during an evening news conference. The witnesses backed Sessou's version of the story."I was right there," said witness Kristina Allee. "I seen everything."Allee said she was sitting in her car in front of Eli's Bar and Grill in Rockbrook Village at about 1 a.m. Saturday. Sessou and two friends were accused of harassing women outside the bar, and ordered to leave by an off-duty officer working as a security guard. The two friends left, and Sessou drove off, but apparently hit a dead end. "When we went to that dead end, I heard the officer say, 'Oh, my God. He's coming back. He's coming back,'" Allee said. Allee said Sessou was trying to leave, but police and several other witnesses said that Sessou was swerving towards the off-duty officer. Allee said everyone was out of the way and the vehicle had passed them when a female officer started swearing and yelling, "Shoot him, shoot him.""That's when the male officer took out his gun and shot seven, eight times at the vehicle," Allee said. Allee doesn't know Sessou, nor does witness Dominique Brown. Brown said she stopped to help Sessou after the shooting."I stepped back from the car and looked around and the cops weren't doing nothing. It was like they wanted him to die, and I was screaming, 'Help me. Help me,'" Brown said. Sessou is a political refugee from Togo. Davis said he works two jobs and goes to school.[MORE]

Walter Collins’ family Faces Retaliation, Harassment after Filing Brutality case Against Minneapolis Police

“This case is about police lying,” said David Schulman. Schulman is an attorney for the family of Walter Kenyon Collins, a 21-year-old Black man who was shot and killed in 2003 by Minneapolis Police Officer Jamie Conway. The second trial in the wrongful death lawsuit brought against the City of Minneapolis and Conway by Collins’ family began on April 20. The first trial was conducted last October. Hennepin County District Court Judge Richard Scherer declared a mistrial when one juror said she was intimidated by a car that was parked outside of her home the night before jury deliberations were to begin.  Walter Collins’ killing was one of three high-profile cases that took place within the span of a week and a half where charges of brutality were leveled against police by victims, family and community members. The case revolves around charges made by Collins’ family that Conway shot Collins in cold blood and that police officers and investigators for the Hennepin County Sheriff’s department attempted to cover up the killing by planting a gun that they claim belonged to Collins. The City of Minneapolis claims that these charges are baseless.  Walter Collins’ family has also charged that Minneapolis police have harassed them in an effort to intimidate them into dropping their lawsuit. In a letter of protest to the City Attorney’s Office, Schulman said that on March 30 of last year police harassed Walter Collins’ mother, Sara Collins, at her home. The letter says that police “entered Collins’ home allegedly because of a call concerning loud music. This reason was false, however. No loud music was playing, and the neighbors had not made any calls to complain of loud music. During the March 30 incident, Sara Collins said that police searched through her legal papers and other personal effects.  Walter Collins’ sister, Linda Collins, also said that she has been harassed by police. “About a month ago, six squad cars pulled me over for nothing,” Linda Collins said. “They pulled me out of the car and forced me to the ground at gunpoint. They did not care that I am pregnant.” She said that police claimed she fit the description of a man they were looking for. Walter Collins was killed in the early morning hours of October 10, 2003, on the lawn of the Phillips Eye Institute on the corner of East 22nd Street and Park Avenue South. According to court documents, Walter Collins and his friend Chandan Hurd were driving northbound on Park Avenue when the truck they were in broke down. Officers Conway and his partner Charles Greaves pulled up on the two young men in their squad car and shined the car’s searchlight on them, at which point Collins began to run. Conway got out of the squad car, chased Collins on foot and shot at him three times, hitting him once fatally. Conway claims he shot Collins because he saw him with a gun. Conway also found a gun at the scene that he claims belonged to Collins. In the brief cited above, the City Attorney’s Office states that Greaves “chose to follow Collins based upon witnessing Collins shove something into the front of his waistband.” However, in his affidavit, Hurd testified that when the police approached both young men, they pulled up their shirts to show the officers that they were unarmed. Hurd also testified that he did not see Walter Collins with “a firearm, nor did he suspect that Collins was in possession of a firearm.” There were no fingerprints belonging to Collins on the pistol, according to forensic test. In addition, during the first trial, no other eyewitnesses, including Conway’s partner Charles Greaves, could testify to seeing Collins with a gun at the time before or during the shooting. Another inconsistency in the City’s case, which came out during the first trial, was that surveillance camera footage from the Phillips Eye Institute, where the shooting took place, contradicts Conway’s account of what happened on that night. The footage shows that at no time did anything Conway describes in his testimony happen in the area where he claims the shooting took place, which is in full view of the cameras. “I want people to know that they can fight. That just because they have a uniform and a badge don’t mean you can’t fight back — you can,” said Sara Collins. [MORE]

Latino Man Stopped by Bexar Sheriif's Deputy for No Reason and Beat Down by Cops: Family Suing for Police Brutality

 
A dramatic arrest is caught on tape and the family of the man who resisted arrest, says it shows an abuse of power by a Bexar County Sheriff’s deputy. The District Attorney’s office says otherwise; they say the man and his family are at fault.
Ambrosio Hernandez says BCSO Deputy Ben Ramos beat him and terrorized his family after a traffic stop in June of 2005. Dashboard video from Ramos’ patrol car shows him following Hernandez, after Hernandez left a Southside bar. The deputy was finally able to pull Hernandez over, right outside of the man’s house. That’s when the deputy confronts Hernandez.

DEPUTY: Stay in the car, stay in the car!

HERNANDEZ: What? What?

DEPUTY: Let me talk to you!

HERNANDEZ: I'm right here, talk to me!

DEPUTY: Let me see your driver's license.

HERNANDEZ: I haven't got my license bro!

DEPUTY: The reason why I'm stopping you is because you're driving with no lights, ok?

HERNANDEZ: I turned my lights on bro!

DEPUTY: Ok well you're under arrest; you were driving with no lights.

After the verbal confrontation, the two men walk out of the way, but audio tracks reportedly captured the confrontation as it continued. That’s when Hernandez’s wife and son, come out of their home, and begin arguing with the officer.

DEPUTY: Dude I'm gonna tell you something you better back off! You understand me? You better back off! It doesn't matter he was on the street when I stopped him.

WOMAN: You can't come and start smacking people here!

After several minutes of arguing, additional deputies and police officers arrested Hernandez’s wife and son and took Hernandez to the hospital. His lawyer says the tape shows Deputy Ramos stopped Hernandez without cause. “What you hear on that tape is a gruesome beating,” says attorney James Myart. “My client was being arrested for driving without headlights when the camera clearly shows that is a lie.” Hernandez is changed with evading arrest and his wife and son are charged with interfering with an arrest. The family is suing Bexar County for $10 million for the alleged brutality. [MORE]

• SEE VIDEO [HERE] 

Black Man Claims Police Used Excessive Force With Taser Gun - Sues For $3 Million

Taser guns are being hailed by law enforcement as a breakthrough in stopping suspects with non-lethal force. Now a Columbus man is suing for $3 million, claiming that police used excessive force by shooting him with a Taser gun. Chauncey Lamont Ross, 35, claims he was permanently injured by local law enforcement. One year ago, Columbus police and a Franklin County sheriff's deputy tried to stop Ross' vehicle on the city's east side for failing to have a tail light. Ross allegedly fled and was apprehended after a short chase in a Whitehall neighborhood.Columbus police, Whitehall police and Franklin County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene.Ross claims he was hit with a Taser gun numerous times, and was beaten and kicked by officers when he didn't put down the object in his hand. Ross was charged with trying to steal one of the officer's guns and assault on a police officer. He was acquitted on all charges, and that's why the lawsuit was filed. One of Ross' lawyers issued a statement saying that there are compelling facts that Ross was unnecessarily and severely beaten by officers, and that officials went to extraordinary lengths to protect themselves. [MORE]

Milwaukee- Walgreens Security Guard who Shot Unarmed Black Man to Death for Stealing Sunglasses Claims self-defense in shooting

Former Walgreens security guard Sam Gwin Jr. shot a shoplifter last year in self-defense, his attorney told a jury Tuesday at the start of Gwin's first-degree intentional homicide trial. In his opening statement, defense attorney Scott F. Anderson said his client fatally shot Alexander Mitchell during a scuffle outside the store because Mitchell had punched him once and was charging him again when Gwin pulled a gun and fired twice from the hip. Still in fear, Gwin shot Mitchell two more times when he tried to get up, Anderson said. He quoted Gwin as telling police, "I fired enough times to be sure he wasn't going to come at me again." Security guard Gwin, 54, of Milwaukee, has a felony record stretching back to 1974 and was prohibited from carrying a gun. But he brought a 9mm pistol and a bulletproof vest to work at Walgreens on April 17, 2005, and confronted Mitchell, 39, who was unarmed, for walking out of the store with a pair of sunglasses he hadn't paid for. Mitchell threw the sunglasses back into the store, but the confrontation continued. Attorneys for the prosecution and defense differed as to why. Assistant District Attorney John T. Chisholm countered that Gwin instigated an argument then made a deliberate decision to shoot the unarmed Mitchell. "There was no reason at that point in time for Mr. Gwin to walk outside of the Walgreens," Chisholm said. Chisholm also showed the jury a security videotape that captured some of the last moments of Mitchell's life, including a demonstrative confrontation with Gwin and the moments when Mitchell hit the ground after being shot. [MORE]

• Milwaukee Drugstore Security Guard shoots, kills Black Man - alleged shoplifter [MORE] 

Charges Dismissed in Fatal S.F. Police Shooting of Cammerin Boyd

Misconduct charges were dismissed against four police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a disabled man who opened fire during a car chase because they were not reviewed by the police chief. The Office of Citizen Complaints improperly bypassed a mandatory 60-day consultation period with Police Chief Heather Fong before filing charges from the May 2004 shooting of attempted kidnapping suspect Cammerin Boyd, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled this month. The civilian watchdog group caved to political pressure after a heated Police Commission meeting demanding accountability for the shooting, the judge ruled. Boyd, 29, led police on a chase through the Western Addition after a woman reported that he threatened her with a gun and tried to force her into his SUV, police said. Boyd fled when officers tried to pull him over and fired on police during the chase, police said. Officers Timothy Paine, 39, and James O'Malley, 36, were accused of improperly firing their weapons. Officers Owen Sweeney III, 57, and Ferdinand Dimapasoc, 39, were charged with violating the department's pursuit guidelines. The group is allowed to refile the charges, and has forwarded the investigation findings to Fong to initiate the consultation process, Allen said. Boyd was a double-amputee who lost both legs below the knee after crashing his mother's Mercedes-Benz during a 1993 chase with California Highway Patrol officers. [MORE]

Columbus files for immunity in Kenneth Walker Case: Muscogee County Officers Kill Unarmed Black Businessman

Columbus is claiming immunity in the Kenneth Walker killing. In a motion filed Monday in federal district court, the city says it and the Muscogee County Sheriff's Department should be free from any claims related to Walker's Dec. 10, 2003, fatal shooting, because each has immunity under either state or federal law. Then-Deputy Sheriff David Glisson shot Walker in the head after the vehicle in which Walker was riding was pulled over on Interstate 185 during a drug investigation. No drugs or firearms were found in the vehicle, on Walker or on the other occupants. Walker's death sparked outrage and led to a wrongful death suit filed on behalf of his widow, Cheryl Walker. Among the defendants were the city government, Muscogee County Sheriff Ralph Johnson and his deputies. Among the lawsuit's claims were that deputies violated Walker's civil rights, discriminated on the basis of race, committed unlawful seizure and used excessive force. The suit also claimed the county with deliberate indifference failed to adequately train officers for the job. The motion filed Monday maintains the sheriff and his officers act as "an arm of the state," not the city, said Columbus City Attorney Clifton Fay. Because it acts on behalf of the state, the sheriff's office has immunity under the 11th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects states from suit, the motion claims. And, because the sheriff represents the state, the city is not responsible for his officers, the city argues. "Muscogee County has no control over their office or policies, procedures or customs," reads the motion. In addition, the county -- which in this case means the Columbus Consolidated Government -- claims its own sovereign immunity under state law, Fay said. The motion further argues that officers who made the traffic stop that resulted in Walker's death are themselves entitled to "qualified immunity," as they acted without malice in the performance of their duties. The information obtained in a drug investigation gave them reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle, and they had reason to arrest its occupants, because open containers of alcoholic beverages were inside, and that was illegal, Fay said. [MORE]

Family of Unarmed Latino man slain by San Bernardino County Deputy may get less under new deal

The family of a man who was shot and killed by a sheriff's reserve deputy in Fontana in 2003 may get much less than they had sought under a tentative settlement in a $30 million civil lawsuit. A settlement would enable reserve deputy John Monaghan, who is also a prosecutor in Los Angeles County, to address other upcoming cases such as the murder trial for three people charged in the death of Cal Poly Pomona student Christina Burmeister in August 2001. Under the agreement reached Monday, Monaghan would be dismissed from the civil suit, which was filed by the family of Jose Luis Perea in U.S. District Court, in Riverside, in February 2004. But San Bernardino County, which employed the reserve deputy, would pay $220,000 to Perea's two sons and $230,000 to the family's lawyer, according to attorney Eugene Ramirez, who represented Monaghan. The suit claimed Monaghan used excessive force and acted maliciously when he shot and killed Perea during a foot chase through a Fontana pallet yard on Feb. 9, 2003. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office cleared Monaghan of any wrongdoing in October 2003. The deal must still be approved by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson. A retrial in the case, which was set to begin Tuesday, was called off by Larson because of the agreement. Larson ruled a mistrial in the first trial when it was learned that jurors had discussed a newspaper article about officer-involved shootings while deliberating in the case. Monaghan told investigators Perea ran a red light, prompting him to follow him. When the deputy stopped Perea, the driver ran into the pallet yard.  Perea had thrown an eyeglass case and a baseball hat at Monaghan during the chase, prompting Monaghan to fire his weapon. While at least two shots missed Perea, a third struck him in the neck, killing him instantly, according to authorities. [MORE]

• Williams' Prosecutor Faces Suit In Fatal Shooting [MORE]

Dead on Arrival: Black Father Claims his Son was Killed in Custody of Edison Police

A man who says his son died while in the custody of township police has filed a lawsuit against the municipality. John Washington said he continues to seek justice for his son, who died a few hours after being arrested in the township in 2004. "I'm going to fight to the end," said Washington, who led a small protest rally in front of the Edison Police Department Friday morning. Washington, a resident of East Orange, filed a suit alleging negligence and wrongful death in Superior Court in Essex County on April 20. Washington's son, Ibn Rajahn Sampson, was arrested near Oakwood Plaza along with two other men on drug charges in April 2004. He was 19. At the time of the incident, authorities said it appeared Sampson ingested an unspecified amount of drugs and went into distress. He died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital three hours later. "He was arrested for a bag of weed, and three hours later he's dead," said Washington's attorney, Steven F. Roth of Springfield. "The lethal amount of cocaine that he allegedly died from, he was never arrested for. And how did he get it into the holding cell?" Roth asked. Washington contends his son died while in the custody of Edison police. "At the hospital, they pulled me aside and said (Sampson) was dead when he got there," Washington said. "(Edison police) just let my son die." Edison police had no comment, citing the pending litigation. Washington and his wife, Carla Sampson, said they plan to hold a rally every year until justice is served. "They were dead wrong in how they handled this. They should've taken better care of this young man. Instead, they let him die," Washington said. Attorney Roth said "there are too many oddities surrounding the facts and circumstances of how this great kid died." [MORE]

• Teen death sparks protest against police [MORE]

Lawsuit filed in Disputed Deadly Shooting of Latino Man by Chicago Police

A federal lawsuit has been filed by the family of one of two men shot and killed last month by an off-duty Chicago police officer. Kenneth Elrod and Demitri Centera were shot during a confrontation at a stoplight on Chicago's Northwest Side. Elrod's family says the shooting was unjust. Police say the off-duty officer was driving his Hummer home from a bar at 2:30 a.m. when two men pulled up in a car and pointed guns at him. The off-duty officer killed both of them because, police say, they were threatening him and he feared for his own life. The attorney for Elrod's family doesn't believe it. He has filed a lawsuit, alleging wrongful death and excessive force "The witnesses that I've spoken to have indicated that they heard gunshots and all the gunshots came from the Hummer. They indicated that they never saw anyone point a gun, they never saw anyone fire a gun. They never saw anyone with a gun," said Gregory Kulis, Attorney for Elrod's Family. Elrod had been in a bar down the street earlier in the night and had been in an altercation with the off-duty police officer who helped kick him out of the place. Elrod then went home. His wife, Maria, has given police a signed statement saying Elrod called ahead telling her to get his guns ready. When he came home, he picked up two guns and extra ammunition. He then called his friend, Demitri Centera, and left, saying he was going to take care of business. [MORE]

Chicago Police Officer kills Black Man in Disputed West Side Shooting

A Chicago police officer shot and killed a man Sunday after he tried to run over another officer with his car, officials said. That account was corroborated by the female passenger in the car of Dantwain Betts, 21, who police shot and killed about 1:30 a.m. Sunday in the intersection of West 100th Street and South Lowe Avenue, authorities said. But Betts' family disputes the police account. They said witnesses have told them that Betts hit the officer with his car only after he had been shot. Betts, who was shot a block from his home, was pronounced dead on the scene, said the Cook County medical examiner's office. An autopsy conducted Sunday revealed that Betts died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide. Officers received a tip that Betts, who was a suspect in a carjacking, was in the area of West 100th and South Wallace Street, police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. There, officers found his car and followed Betts to Lowe Avenue, where they parked their unmarked squad car in front of Betts' car. The officers then surrounded his car and identified themselves as police, Bond said. Instead of getting out of the car, Betts "disregarded the officers' command and accelerated the vehicle in reverse, running over the officer in the rear," Bond said.  Betts' sister Robin said the family "believes there is a cover-up going on." Witnesses told the family that Betts drove into reverse onto the sidewalk after he was shot, she said. "He lost control of the car and wound up on the sidewalk," she said. "Afterward, police walked up and shot him multiple times. He has been in trouble with the law before, but misdemeanors, juvenile things. He didn't have a weapon or a knife or gun or anything." Bond said the passenger in Betts' car corroborated the police department's account. [MORE] and [MORE]

Outrage over NYPD Shooting of Black Man at Queens Apartment complex

Anger and outrage, as well as, numerous questions surrounding the police shooting of a young man in Queens overnight. Witnesses claim the man was unarmed. But police say the incident was touched off by a struggle with officers. The victim is in the hospital and police are looking for his younger brother who fled the scene. Twenty-two-year-old Floyd Johnson is recovering in the hospital from a gunshot wound after getting in the middle of police confrontation. His younger brother, 19-year-old Makai Jackson was getting arrested for trespassing. This all happened just before 2:00 a.m. outside of Redfern Houses in Far Rockaway. The boys' mother said she heard a commotion. Ethel Trammell, Victim's Mother: "Everybody was screaming, I looked out my window and I saw Floyd laying on the ground. I was asking the guy who is it and the guy said they shot Floyd." Two uniform officers from the 101st Precinct say Johnson punched one of the officers and was reaching for his gun when the shot was fired. But residents tell a different story. Taunya Shelbourne, Resident: "The older brother came outside and said 'what are ya'll doing to my brother'? As he ran up, I guess they (the police) felt he got to close to the brother and they started tussling with him. The other brother ran, he (the victim) fell, the cop pulled out a gun. I yelled 'don't' shoot him, don't shoot him' and he shot him." [MORE]

Chicago Police Shoot Another Black Man to Death & Claim Self Defense

Michael Dunbar died after he was shot by the officer Wednesday night in the 4000 block of West Roosevelt Road. Police said Dunbar was driving a car that dragged the officer backward down a sidewalk holding while the officer's left arm was caught in the window. According to police News Affairs Deputy Director Pat Camden, two uniformed Ogden District officers saw a car parked on the sidewalk on the north side of West Roosevelt Road and couldn't figure out why the car was blocking the sidewalk. The officers walked up to the car with the male officer on the driver's side and the female on the passenger side.  Dunbar's sister said she was just yards away from her brother when police first approached his car. Dunbar's sister disputes that her brother's car was on the sidewalk, adding that she suspects racism and inexperienced policing led to his death."They're trying to cover up for what they did." "We're not letting this go on like this. We're going to stand up for justice, and we're going to get down to the bottom of it, no matter what it takes." Tynaya Gray, who was also at the scene, said that police didn't give him immediate attention."They dragged him out of the car while he was slumped over and had already had been shot several times. They were dragging him and cuffing him and everything. They gave him no medical attention right away. They only took their officer to the hospital right away," Gray said. Cansandra Wright also disputed the police account. She said Dunbar and his passenger had parked in a long curb cut on Roosevelt while they went into a nearby convenience store. As they came out of the store and got in the car, a marked police car pulled up behind them with its lights and siren off. Two officers got out and approached Dunbar's car without identifying themselves, she said. "He drives away, and they start shooting," she said. Wright, who said she was standing nearby, at Springfield Avenue and Roosevelt, when the shooting occurred, said neither officer was dragged by the car or hurt as far as she could tell. [MORE] and [MORE]

Tensions Mount Following Shooting
Witnesses said tensions were high following the shooting between police officers and a large crowd that gathered at the scene. NBC5 received several calls from residents in the area Wednesday night claiming that officers were banging on doors and harassing people."They were kicking doors in. They were just busting car windows, beating people, spraying Mace at people, everything," said area resident Tarnisha Taylor. Monica Logan, who lives nearby, said officers who were chasing a boy dragged him into her home and beat him up."They were fighting everybody, and they knocked the TV over," Logan said. "I said, 'Look at the mess you've made in my house!'" "They pushed our doors open and came up here with the boy and pointed the Taser gun at him. The boy was scared and ran up behind me and he grabbed me," said Marcus Mobley who was sitting on the porch."They beat him and the boy was begging for his life on the floor," Logan said."I said, 'Would you please get out of my house with this stuff? I have a defibrillater and a pacemaker, would you please get out of here with this stuff?'" Logan said. "The Chicago Police Department, they are dirty. They should not be doing this to people. They are brutality," Logan said [MORE]

• Pictured above: "They were kicking doors in. They were just busting car windows, beating people, spraying Mace at people, everything," said area resident Tarnisha Taylor.