15 Years and Still No Justice from Courts for Malik Jones - 4th Appeal Sought for Black Man Killed by New Haven Police

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From [HERE] Fifteen years after Malik Jones was shot to death by a police officer, his mother says she is still searching for “justice.” Supporters led a rally and march Sunday from where Malik Jones was killed on Grand Avenue to his gravesite, demanding the formation of a civilian review board designed to investigate shootings like Jones’ and hold police accountable. “No justice, no peace, with racist police,” they chanted as they walked toward Evergreen Cemetery, where Malik Jones is buried.

In early August, an appeals court overturned a $900,000 settlement in favor of Emma Jones, leaving her uncompensated for the death of her son. The lawsuit had alleged that the town's custom, policy or usage of deliberate indifference to the rights of black people caused the killing of Jones in violation of his constitutional rights. [MORE] 

Previously, in 2003, a federal jury in Hartford awarded Jones $2.5 million in punitive damages against the police, but that was thrown out four years later by the U.S. District Court. The Court held that municipalities are immune from punitive damages. “When the (August) decision came down, I felt the exact same way I felt on the day of the murder,” Emma Jones said.

In 1997, Malik Jones was stopped by police officers in East Haven. He led police on a chase to New Haven where East Haven officer Robert Flodquist smashed the glass of Jones’ car and shot him several times at close range. 

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Jesse Jackson Condemns Saginaw Police 'No Snitch' Policy - Demands Release of Officers Names in Police Execution of Black Man - shot 46 times

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From [HERE] The shooting of a mentally ill, homeless Black man by six officers firing a reported 46 shots is stirring tensions and protests over the pace of the investigation. After a tumultuous week of demonstrations and criticism by outside activists, the Rev. Jesse Jackson visited the site of the shooting and attended a town hall meeting Friday. Jackson, like other activists, said he was frustrated by what he called the slow pace of the investigation into the July 1 death of Milton Hall, an African-American.

"The idea of him being killed execution-style in broad daylight is overwhelming," said Jackson, founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Several hundred people gathered for the town hall meeting in the sanctuary at Greater Coleman Temple World Outreach Campus, listening to remarks by Jackson and others.

During an exclusive interview with MLive before Jackson’s 12:30 p.m. meeting with local leaders, the civil rights leader talked about the July 1 police killing of Milton S. Hall, comparing the six officers who shot Hall to “an execution squad” and “terrorists” while likening the move to keep the officers’ names anonymous to a “no-snitch code” that keeps citizens from informing investigators about crime.

“Clearly, he was outnumbered 6-to-1,” Jackson said. “They could have used Tasers.” - (or the dog that was on the leash in front of Hall.) “The Justice Department should intervene quickly and thoroughly to make sure those who are guilty are punished,” he said.

Jackson said he wants the names of the involved officers released. “When police names are kept anonymous, it’s called Code Blue,” Jackson said. “So police engage in Code Blue, and they won’t tell who violated the law. The ‘don’t snitch’ code comes from Code Blue. Silence about killings means they have sanctuary. Communities and police departments must not be sanctuaries for terrorists.” [MORE] 

 

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2nd St. Paul cop on leave in video incident of Police Beating of Unarmed, Non-resisting Black Man

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From [HERE] A second St. Paul police officer has been placed on administrative leave in connection with a police investigation of a video that appears to show one officer kicking a Black man, Eric Hightower and two officers slamming his head against a police car. In the video, Hightower is on the ground looking up at the officer asking him why he is under the arrest. 

"As the investigation proceeded, officials became aware of information that Chief Smith believed warranted placing a second officer on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation," St. Paul Police Department spokesperson Howie Padilla said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Police did not release the name of the second police officer or provide any details about his role in the incident.

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South African Prosecutors Charge the Striking Miners with Murder for the Actions of the Police

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From [HERE] South African authorities on Thursday invoked a legal move seldom used since the dying days of apartheid in order to charge 270 striking miners with the murder of 34 co-workers who were seen being shot dead in a hail of police bullets earlier this month.

Prosecutors have filed papers using a measure called "common purpose", arguing the miners were complicit in the killings since they were arrested at the scene with weapons.

Legal experts said the move will likely collapse when a court hearing bail applications for the 270 near the mine resumes sessions next week and lambasted prosecutors for inflaming a tense situation by seeking a mass indictment that will eventually be rejected. Pierre de Vos, a law expert at the University of Cape Town, wrote in a blog that the decision to charge the miners was "bizarre and shocking and represents a flagrant abuse of the criminal justice system, most probably in an effort to protect the police and/or politicians ..."

 

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No Criminal Charges for Financial Misconduct Filed Against Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio

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From [HERE] The federal government has closed a criminal probe of alleged financial misconduct by Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio, who styles himself as "America's toughest sheriff," saying no charges would be filed, the U.S. Attorney's Office said on Friday. Arpiao is a racist white man. A separate federal investigation relating to allegations of civil rights abuses by Arpaio's office is continuing.

The announcement on Friday marked the end of an investigation that began in November 2010 at the behest of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to examine alleged financial improprieties by the county sheriff and his deputies. A federal criminal inquiry into several of those matters was concluded last summer with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona declining to initiate criminal charges. Maricopa County authorities were informed on Friday that federal prosecutors had likewise declined to bring charges in connection with allegations that the sheriff's office had misused county credit cards or misspent money from jail facilities excise taxes.

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Unarmed Black Woman Killed by LAPD - Dies in Police Custody after Violent Arrest, Police have Video

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From [HERE] and [HERE] Just one day after police officers were disciplined in an alleged use of force incident, the Los Angeles Police Department has a woman's in-custody death investigation on its hands.

At least five Los Angeles police officers are under investigation in the death of a woman who suffocated after an officer stomped on her genital area and others used additional force to take her into custody, police officials confirmed Thursday. The altercation in front of her South Los Angeles apartment was captured by a patrol car’s video camera. However, the altercation began inside the apartment building.  Once outside a female officer then threatened to kick Thomas in the genitals if she did not comply, Green confirmed, and the officer followed through on her threat and allegedly stomped on her groin. [MORE] 

After officers forced her into the back seat of the police car, Thomas is also seen on the video breathing shallowly and she eventually stopped breathing. LAPD officers went to an apartment building on the 9000 block of Broadway on July 22 after two children were found abandoned at a police station. A neighbor says he saw two LAPD officers struggle with the children's mother, 35-year-old Alesia Thomas, outside her apartment.

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Friday Protest Planned over Saginaw Police Murder of Black Man - Shot 46 Times, Caught on Video

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Graphic Video [HERE]  From [HERE] and [HERE] The Rev. Al Sharpton has pledged to come to Saginaw to bring more national attention if there is not an announcement soon about the Milton Hall death investigation. Meanwhile, the Rev. Charles Williams II, a civil rights leader from Detroit, will add to an already substantial presence expected Friday as out-of-towners come to Saginaw to put pressure on authorities to release the outcome of investigations in the July 1 Saginaw police shooting of Milton Hall, a homeless man who was armed with a knife. Williams, president of the National Action Network Michigan, spoke on Sharpton's radio show at 1 p.m. today.

Hill had been had been arguing with officers in a parking lot next to a shuttered restaurant when he was shot in broad daylight, in full view of passing motorists and while he was holding some sort of knife. Saginaw County Prosecutor Michael Thomas said that the squad of police confronting him opened fire "because apparently, at this point in time, he was threatening to assault police." However, in the video Hall does not make any sudden or threatening movement toward police. He appears to stagger around. Police had a police dog on a leash in front of Hall so they had other opitions at their disposal -- but apparently chose to use their guns instead. He was murdered by cops with a reported 46 shots in a five-second hail of bullets.

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Arabic Man Files Suit Against Richardson Police - Paralyzed for Life after Marijuana Traffic Stop

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From [HERE] A man who was paralyzed from the waist down after a violent run-in with two Richardson police officers is suing the city and the officers in federal court for shooting him. Ahmad Ismail claims in the federal suit filed Thursday that the officers violated his civil rights by shooting him during a traffic stop and turning him into a paraplegic. The suit says the city failed to properly train the officers.

“The gunshot wound to his back shattered multiple vertebrae and permanently damaged his spinal cord,” the lawsuit said. Ahmad was pulled over in Richardson in an empty parking lot at 9:30 p.m. off of North Central Expressway. The lawsuit doesn’t say when this happened. Officer Travis Bannister recognized him; he had arrested him says earlier on a marijuana possession charge, the lawsuit said. According to the lawsuit, the following sequence of events followed:

Other officers arrived to assist. Bannister asked Ahmad why he had drugs on his lap and asked him to open the car door.  Ahmad panicked and began driving in reverse towards Bannister’s car. Neither Bannister nor Officer Matthew Lynch were behind Ahmad’s car. Both officers then drew their guns and ordered Ahmad out of the vehicle. Ahmad then tried to flee by driving away from the officers, who then both opened fire at the vehicle.

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Deposed Pleasantville Officer Claims Henry's Car was not Going to Stop in Police Killing of Black College Student

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From [HERE] and [HERE] A white Pleasantville police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Danroy Henry, a black college student, said he yelled for the car to stop, but that it kept coming. Officer Aaron Hess said in a deposition that he had to lunge on top of the car to avoid being run over, and that he fired into the car to stop the driver.

White prosecutors deicided not to prosecute Hess after a grand jury cleared him in the October 2010 death of Henry, a Pace University student and football player from Easton, Mass. Henry's family has filed a civil suit against Hess. The deposition was taken earlier in August as part of that suit, and the transcript was released by their attorney on Thursday.

Hess was one of several officers who responded to a bar brawl on Oct. 17, 2010. Henry, 20, and two friends were idling in a car nearby when police told them to move their car. Hess claimed Henry peeled away and struck him with the car, but some witnesses and Henry's family contend Henry was just obeying police instructions to move the car. Hess and Officer Ronald Beckley fired on Henry, the driver. The passenger in the car, Brandon Cox, told authorities that Henry slowed down before he was shot by police. [MORE] According to witness testimony, Henry was handcuffed and placed on the sidewalk, where he lay dying. He was left on the street for 15 minutes without any medical attention. [MORE]

As an insult to injury Hess was honored in April 2011 as Officer of the Year by the mostly white Pleasantville Police Benevolent Association. Officers also objected to the Henry family raising money on behalf of Danroy. [HERE] 

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St. Paul Police Treat Unarmed Black Man Like an Animal - Caught on Cell Phone Video

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Listen and Watch [HERE] 

From [HERE] and [HERE] A St. Paul police officer is under investigation after city leaders expressed concerns about a video that shows him kicking a suspect in the chest and slamming his head into a squad car.

Police Chief Thomas Smith said he called for an expedited investigation when the video, made during an arrest on Tuesday evening, came to his attention Wednesday morning.

Officer Jesse Zilge, who is the only officer seen in the first half of the video, was put on paid administrative leave.

The five-minute video starts (in broad daylight) with the beating already in progress, it shows a man, identified in a police report as Eric R. Hightower, 30, lying on his stomach on the sidewalk as an officer stands over him. Hightower yells that he didn't do anything and asks him why the officer has assaulted him. The officer is under no durress and almost appears casual in the scene -  he appears to be in no present danger. At one point, Hightower starts to cough and the officer kicks him in his face or his neck. Several people, including children, who gathered at the scene yelled at the officer.

The officer handcuffs the man and with the help of another officer, gets him up and appears to slam his head on the hood of a squad car. An army of other officers then arrive. The voice of the person recording the video says, "He done sprayed him, maced him, tased him."

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Six Hollywood Police Officers Caught on Video Kicking, Pouncing on Handcuffed Unresisting 17 year old Latino Teen

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Video [HERE] “Police said I'm lucky it wasn't nighttime.”  From [HERE] and [HERE] A Broward teen who was roughed up by Hollywood police during a traffic stop was released from the county’s juvenile lock up Wednesday afternoon. On Aug. 14 Hollywood Police arrested Cabrera – and the takedown was caught on video. Cabrera says they roughed him up for no reason.

Michelle Surgeon, the mother of 17-year old Cabrera, said an emergency hearing was held Wednesday morning and judge ruled that he could be released under the condition that he wore an ankle monitoring device. Surgeon said this was great news. She said her son still having bad headaches every day because of the head injuries he sustained. Cabrera has been in the Broward County juvenile detention center since August 14th.

On that day, Hollywood Police said he refused to stop when they tried to pull him over because his license plate did not match the registration. They said Cabrera ran red lights, rammed a police car at one point and then refused to get out of his car once cornered. “The police cruiser hit me in the back as I was driving,” he said.  “I never put it in reverse, I kept going straight.  The police cruiser hit me.  And so he wouldn’t get in trouble, he said I hit him.” Police said he was given order to exit the vehicle, but he did not. Cabrera said they did not say anything to him.

The takedown was unexpectedly captured on a homeowner’s security system. In that surveillance video, you can see officers pulling Cabrera from his car, wrestling him on the ground and after being handcuffed, one officer uses his knee to poke Cabrera. In the video, it appears that Hollywood Police punch the teenager and knee him in the head, and one officer keeps a knee on Cabrera’s neck most of the time, even though he appears to be handcuffed behind the back. Cabrera said he blacked out as officers beat him on the head.

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White Prosecutor, Attorney General still trying to figure out whether Saginaw Police Shooting of Unarmed Black Man 46 Times was Justified

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MLive

Saginaw County Prosecutor Mike Thomas said today that the July 1 fatal shooting of a man by city police officers is still being investigated.

Milton Hall was shot and killed by a group of Saginaw Police officers after police were called to the scene for a complaint about the homeless man with a history of mental illness. Police said Hall was holding a knife when six officers shot at him 46 times. Thomas declined to comment on the progress of the investigation, but said it is being conducted jointly by his office and the office of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. The initial law enforcement investigation was handled by the Michigan State Police.

A spokesperson from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has also confirmed a federal investigation into the shooting was opened on Aug. 17, the day after CNN aired an amateur video of the incident.

'Kill First Ask Questions Later' - L.A. County Sheriff Claims Unarmed Black Man was "Reaching for Waistband" after "Robbing a Store" that was not Robbed

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From [HERE] Friends and family of 22-year-old Compton dad Tony Francis are having a hard time believing the L.A. County Sheriff's account of his death last Friday: Sheriff's Homicide Detective Holly Francisco told reporters that a deputy from the Lakewood station was forced to shoot Francis after the suspect was observed carrying out a violent robbery near the American Tire Depot on Alondra Boulevard in Bellflower.

Francis "was hitting the victim in the face numerous times and stole an item from the victim," the detective alleged to CBS2. "The suspect then began to run away from the deputy. The deputy followed him..."

"... and when the suspect reached and grabbed toward his waistband, the deputy, believing that he was armed, fired at the suspect."

We've contacted Detective Francisco to see if the Sheriff's Department is sticking by that story. But according to Bryan Dunn, an attorney with the Cochran firm -- the same wrongful-death powerhouse that took on the infamous Reginald Doucet police slaying in Playa Vista last year -- Francis "hadn't committed any violent crime" before he was shot dead.

The sheriff's incriminating portrait of Francis and the "waistband" allegation are familiar tactics, says Dunn.

"What the police do under these types of circumstances is invent a scenario that will make an unjustified shooting seem justified," he says. (Indeed, CBS2 commenters seem to use the robbery allegation to argue that cops were just taking another thug (Black/Latino man) off the streets.)

The attorney calls Friday's tragedy "another example of an officer shooting first and asking questions later." He says the victim's family will be filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, based on "civil-rights violations" and "negligent tactics."

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DPS Officer Accused in Severe Beating of Unarmed Chinese Man Gets Job Back

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In photo the apartment building where Jin Dong Wang was beaten. From [HERE] The Department of Public Safety has hired back former police officer Jesse Dubrall and four other former police officers, according to DPS sources. In addition, sources said, DPS also hired Anthony Palacios, a former Commonwealth Ports Authority police officer.

Jin Dong Wang, a Chinese national, has filed a police brutality lawsuit in federal court against Dubrall, the CNMI government, DPS, former DPS commissioner Santiago F. Tudela, and unnamed co-defendants when Dubrall allegedly used excessive force during Wang's mistaken arrest on Oct. 18, 2010. Wang, through counsel David G. Banes, alleged that Dubrall severely beat him with the butt of his gun and punched and kicked him.

In October 2010 former police officer Jesse Dubrall was with several other CNMI Department of Public Safety officers at an As Lito, Saipan apartment building to conduct a sting operation on a suspected drug trafficker. Jin Dong Wang stepped out of his second floor apartment to visit a friend. He noticed flashlights on the first floor below him. DPS Officer Jesse Dubrall came up stairs and pointed a gun at him. Then without provocation, the officer hit Wang in the back of his head with the butt of his gun. He then kicked the defenseless man continually. Dubrall handcuffed Wang, took his wallet and went inside his house while he lay on the balcony in a pool of blood.

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Inside the Mind of Racist NYC Cops on Facebook: “The safety of cops should be more important than the safety of the animals.”

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In photo, white supremacist Mayor Bloomberg, a hater of the 2nd and 4th Amendments (and non-whites). Last December, the Huffington Post published some of the Facebook postings:

  • One compared working the detail to “ghetto training.”
  • Another suggested holding the event at “the zoo.”
  • Other postings included: “The safety of cops should be more important than the safety of the animals.”
  • “It’s not racist if it’s true.”
  • “…if the cops sneeze too loud they get investigated for excessive force, but the ‘civilians’ can run around like savages and there are no repercussions.”
  • “Why is everyone calling this a parade? It’s a scheduled riot.”
  • “I say have the parade one more year, and when they all gather drop a bomb and wipe them all out.”

The same article noted that, on a message board for police officers, NYPD Rant, some cops supported their colleague’s feelings. One read: “For the record, most of the participants at the West Indies Day Parade are fucking savages who walked out from the jungle 2 minutes ago.”

The annual Labor Day parade has become the city’s biggest cultural festival since it was first held in Brooklyn in 1969. It traverses the streets of Crown Heights, along Eastern Parkway, and typically attracts millions of revelers to celebrate the diverse cultures of the Caribbean islands and features dancers dressed in enormous feathered costumes, lively music and a bounty of West Indian fare.

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South African cops: 150 miners claim beaten in custody

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CBS News

South Africa's police directorate of complaints has opened 34 murder dockets in the police killings of 34 striking mine workers and also is investigating complaints that more than 150 arrested miners have been beaten in police custody, the directorate spokesman said Monday.

The news comes as President Jacob Zuma is being grilled by the African National Congress national executive committee over the police shootings that wounded another 78 strikers at the Lonmin PLC platinum mine on Aug. 16.

Sharpton's Group: "It's a Modern Day Lynching" - 58 days later Still No Officers Fired in Saginaw Police Murder of Unarmed, Homeless Black Man Shot 30 times

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From [HERE] and [HERE] The National Action Network said they are prepared to take to Saginaw streets if the city council doesn't make some swift actions with the Saginaw police officers involved in the Milton Hall death. The threats were made by Rev. Charles Williams II at Monday's city council meeting. Williams spoke on behalf of Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network, calling for action in the police-involved shooting of Hall on July 1.

"Almost seems as if they were having target practice, I think it's very unfortunate, and in fact, we're calling it a modern-day lynching," Williams said. Williams said he has viewed the cell phone footage that shows the police's actions moments before Hall was shot and killed and said it's unacceptable it has been nearly two months since the shooting and still, nothing has been done.

"The officers who shot Mr. Hall should not be working right now. There's no way in the world these officers should be getting paid by these taxpayer dollars right now," Williams said. "If you can't hear me now, you will hear me on the streets, because we're going to march, we're going to fight, and we will not stop until we get justice for Milton Hall."

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New Brunswick settles Excessive Force suit for $120,000 in Warrantless, Unlawful Police Search & Beating of Arab College Student

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From [HERE] The city and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office agreed to pay $120,000 to two Rutgers University students who accused officers in the city Police Department of beating and abusing them. They had filed a $2 million federal lawsuit against the department, claiming excessive force.

Kareem Najjar and Jake Kostman say they were asleep when officers from the New Brunswick Police Department stormed into their apartmentnat 4:30 AM in the basement of an off-campus house Dec. 10 and began beating the college students in their beds without any warning and without identifying themselves as police.

"We didn't know they were cops," Najjar, a 19-year-old sophomore, told AOL News today in a phone interview. "One was wearing a ski mask, one was wearing a Rutgers hoodie. Another had on a Jack Daniel's T-shirt and work boots. I honestly thought we were getting robbed." The officers involved were Patrolman Keith Walcott, Sgt. Scott Gould (the community liaison officer), and Detectives Miguel Chang, Andrew Weiss and Robert Bogdanski.

The students say the officers -- who were apparently serving a warrant for someone else in the house -- punched and kicked them multiple times in the face, back and ribs. Kostman, 20, said Najjar began to bleed from his ear after four officers held him to the ground, one pressing his head into the floor with a boot.

"Kareem is just in a ball on all fours, there are four cops on him and he's bleeding from the head. At this point you just gotta hope and pray that they are cops," Kostman told AOL News. Najjar and Kostman say the officers only identified themselves after handcuffing them, but told the roommates they weren't under arrest.

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Lawsuit Claims Carpentersville Police Assaulted Latino Man and Used Racial Slurs

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From [HERE] A Latino man from Crystal Lake is suing the village of Carpentersville and members of its police force alleging he was roughed up and subjected to racial slurs during a traffic stop last year and that the village’s resolution to make English its official language gave police license to discriminate against Spanish-speaking people.

Johny Perez, 21, claims he was falsely arrested and Officer Alan Webb was abusive toward him. He is seeking at least $50,000 in damages. Perez’s 12-count lawsuit, filed earlier this month, centers on his March 16, 2011, traffic stop.

Perez, a Spanish-speaking U.S. citizen, was driving near Route 25, when an officer pulled him over for going 5 mph over the speed limit. Three minutes into the stop, Webb and other officers arrived. Webb told Perez to turn his engine off and get out of his car. Perez obeyed, but Webb started yelling profanities at him. As he turned off the engine and faced Webb, Webb pushed him in the chest, causing him to stumble and fall onto his car. Webb then punched Perez twice in the face, kneed him in his side and punched him on the back of his head.

Other police officers held Perez while Webb attacked him, the suit goes on to say. Afterward, Webb grabbed Perez by the collar, screamed at him for 10 seconds and called him names. Perez was treated for facial and body bruises at Centegra Hospital in McHenry and incurred $3,000 in medical bills, his suit states.

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Jesse Jackson calls for answers in Chavis Carter Death: Says Jonesboro Police "Houdini Justice" Unacceptable

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From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 8/23/12 Jonesboro police on Wednesday released a preliminary narrative of their investigation into the fatal July 28 shooting of a man handcuffed in a patrol car as the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke in Jonesboro and Memphis about the death, which officials have ruled suicide. The nature of the gunshot wound, "high velocity" blood spatters on Chavis Chacobie Carter's right hand and the rear door of the police car, and witness statements support the conclusion that Carter's death was suicide, the police narrative said.

Carter's girlfriend - who was not named in the report - told the department's primary investigator that Carter, 21, called her from the police car and "told her that he loved her and that he had a gun on him (in the rear of the police car) and that he was scared," the narrative said.

Meanwhile in Jonesboro, Jackson held a prayer vigil with Carter's family on Haltom Street, where the Southaven, Miss., man was shot. Jackson also led a march of about 300 people from the shooting site to the Jonesboro Justice Complex about 2 miles away.  "[Carter] was searched twice by police," Jackson said. "He was in a police car, handcuffed, and he was able to shoot himself? We do not accept this." Jackson said the Jonesboro Police Department's sporadic release of information over the past two weeks has raised too many questions. "It's Houdini justice," he said.

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