"Do you know who the f--- I am?": Philadelphia Police Officers Attack Pregnant Black Woman, Caused Miscarriage - Suit Filed

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From [HERE] A pregnant woman who says she lost her baby after police zapped her with a stun gun seven times outside her North Philadelphia home in 2010 filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit this week against the city and three police officers involved in the incident. Naimah Jones, 35, is suing for assault and battery, false arrest, malicious prosecution and emotional distress.

The incident occurred Nov. 27, 2010, when Jones, en route to her parents' house to celebrate Thanksgiving, stopped home to grab some luggage. With four of her five children asleep in the car, she told her 14-year-old daughter that she'd be back after getting their things. She then locked the car door and went in the house.

Within minutes, she heard someone knocking on the car door outside and spied two men trying to get into the car. From her second-floor window, she yelled at them to get away from her car and then ran outside when they didn't. "Do you know who the f--- I am?" one man shouted before pushing Jones against a fence and choking her, according to the lawsuit. He then identified himself as a police officer, according to the lawsuit.

As Jones repeated "I didn't know you were a police officer," Officer Philip Sprague and his partner Officer Russell Seiberlich threw her to the ground and handcuffed her, according to the lawsuit. Another cop who came as backup, Officer Chris Manigault, then tasered Jones each time she screamed for help - more than seven times - upon Sprague's order, according to the lawsuit. She miscarried a few weeks later, her attorney James E. Lee said. 

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Several Witnesses say New Haven Police Beat Latino man after pursuit: Officer Claimed to "Struggle" with 5 Foot 100lbs man

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From [HERE] Witnesses and the family of a man charged with fighting with a police officer during an arrest claim that he wasn’t resisting while being beaten by police.

The family of Luis Rivera, 34, said Thursday they have between 25 and 30 witness accounts contradicting the police account and will file an internal affairs complaint for use of excessive force. “He surrendered, as a lot of witnesses seen,” said Rivera’s girlfriend, Estefania Cruz. “He never assaulted a cop.” Jewu Richardson, a community organizer, said a large number of witness saw Rivera being manhandled and assaulted.

On the ground, the officer repeatedly punched Rivera in the face, she said Thursday, as she stood outside police headquarters with a handful of supporters and Rivera’s sister. Police say Rivera violently struggled with Officer Roy Davis after fleeing from him. At one point during the preceding chase, Rivera allegedly called upon a man on a bike to hit the officer. The cyclist swung at Davis, striking him in the shoulder and knocking him into a chain-link fence.

Police spokesman Officer Dave Hartman said it was the officer “who was assaulted and knocked down,” resulting in a large contusion to his shoulder.  Rivera, who his under 5 feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds, received more than a dozen stitches, his family said.

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Arizona Latinos Experiencing White Supremacy/Racism with “Show Me Your Papers” in Effect

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From [HERE] Members of the Hispanic community in southern Arizona say they have experienced racial profiling by the police after the entry into force of the “show me your papers” provision of the state’s harsh immigration law.

Martha Angel Castillo, a volunteer with the Arizona Human Rights Coalition, said that one of the cases on which she is currently working is that of a women who identified herself only as Maria Estela and who after being subjected to 12 years of domestic violence dared to file a complaint against her husband.

“When the police officer came to her home, her husband (a U.S. citizen) told the officer that Maria Estela was an undocumented immigrant, and the officer called her outside and handcuffed her immediately,” said Angel during a community forum in Tucson.

She said the officer called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which arrested the immigrant and waited until the following day to take her to a hospital where she received medical attention for the beating she had suffered at the hands of her husband.

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Tukwila (Wa) Police Officers Caught on Video Beating Unarmed, Non-Resisting Black Men During False Arrest - Officers Lie in Reports

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Police Deny Medical Treatment - Take Black Men to Garage From [HERE] and [HERE] Two brothers have filed a formal complaint against a Washington police department, claiming officers used unnecessary force when arresting them on trumped-up charges, then refused them medical treatment in an effort to cover the assault. The incident in Tukwila, Wash., south of Seattle, was caught on dashcam video.

Brothers Charles Chappelle and Jahmez Amili were walking down a dark street in May when a Tukwila patrol car pulled up. Police said the two men were acting erratically and appeared intoxicated. The dashcam captures two officers pouncing on the brothers, throwing them to the ground Officers claim the men resisted arrest, but the video shows them raising their hands before officers approached.

The two brothers, Charles Chappelle and Jahmez Amili, say it all happened so fast. “I didn’t have an idea it was going on,” Amili, 29, said. “I couldn’t believe he just started punching me,” he told KIRO-TV. Chappelle could clearly be seen with his arms in the air before an officer tackled him.

 The video shows Chappelle holding his hands up. And with the video slowed down, you can even see him start to go to the ground before the officer gets to him. 

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ACLU Report Alleges Severe Abuse/Head Injuries of Inmates at LA County Jail - 64 Sworn Affidavits Claim Excessive Force

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Report is [HERE] From [HERE] Dozens of current and former inmates in Los Angeles County jails claim to have suffered head blows from deputies during scuffles, resulting in at least 12 serious head injuries since 2009, according to a report released Wednesday.

According to the report entitled "Sheriff Baca's Strike Force: Deputy Violence and Head Injuries of Inmates in LA County Jails," deputies have "stomped on inmates' heads, after shackling those inmates' hands."

"They have bashed inmates' faces into concrete walls," it added. "They have fractured inmates' facial bones - noses, jaws, cheekbones or eye sockets."

ACLU legal director Peter Eliasberg said the report included 64 sworn statements from inmates, former inmates and civilian eyewitnesses taken since 2009, as well as photographs and medical records. It also said deputies have broken facial bones of at least 11 inmates, blinded an inmate in one eye, sent three inmates to operating rooms, and left 14 inmates with deep gashes that needed sutures. Despite the number and severity of injuries, the ACLU complained that too few cases were identified by the sheriff's department as having excessive uses of force.

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Memphis Police Refuse to Release Details in Police Shooting of 15 yr old Black Boy: Mayor Calls Police Conduct Unacceptable

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Mayor to Get Consultant to Review Police Force

From [HERE] and [MORE] Mayor A C Wharton has said he wants a complete review of the incident. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will complete an independent review. Wharton critizized the department calling it  unacceptable (see tv video).  Memphis Police have not released the name of an off-duty Memphis Police officer involved in a shooting on Monday night.

Police say they responded to the scene around 8 Monday night and found a teen shot. He was taken to the Regional Medical Center where he died. Family of the teen said he is 15-year-old Justin Thompson. Apparently he was chased and shot to death by a Memphis Police officer. Police have refused to provide details of the shooting to the public. A neighbor said that before the boy collapsed in her yard he stopped running and asked her to call an ambulance for help because he had been shot. 

His mother, Shirley, said Justin left to walk to the store with his two brothers, however his brothers returned and he did not. She said minutes later, she could see police lights outside of her home.

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Civil trial begins against Yolo deputies who shot Luis Gutierrez: Witnesses say Police Shot Unarmed Latino Man in the Back

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From [HERE] The civil trial against Yolo County and three deputies who shot and killed a Woodland man more than three years ago is slated to begin Wednesday morning. The trial will begin at 9:15 a.m. inside the Federal Courthouse at Fifth and "I" Streets in Sacramento.

Law enforcement investigators and federal, state and county prosecutors have all cleared the shooters, Sgt. Dale Johnson, head of the Yolo County Gang Task Force, and Deputy Hernan Oviedo, of criminal culpability in the killing of Luis Gutierrez, then 26, as he walked home from the Woodland DMV along the Gum Avenue overpass. Gutierrez was allegedly unknown to the deputies and had no criminal record other than traffic-related violations.

Deputies claim Gutierrez had a knife, but witnesses didn't see one and will testify to that at the civil trial this week. Gutierrez reportedly ran for his life because the unidentified deputies - in plainclothes and driving cars that had unmarked, blacked-out windows - chased him. The wrongful-death lawsuit was filed in 2010 by Gutierrez's parents.Jury members will decide whether or not the two deputies who fatally shot Gutierrez on April 30, 2009 were justified in killing him.

Witnesses say Baltimore Police Killed Unarmed Black Man During Arrest - Lifted Off the Ground & Slammed Down by Cop

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From [HERE] and [MORE] Baltimore Police have launched a criminal investigation into Friday's in-custody death of a 46-year-old Black man in East Baltimore, who police initially said was believed to have died from choking on drugs. 

Relatives of the man and eyewitnesses have come forward to say the man, identified by family as Anthony Anderson, was assaulted by police. Police confirmed that they have interviewed those witnesses, and say a preliminary autopsy shows that the man did not die from choking on drugs. People who say they witnessed his death — including his family members — believe he died from injuries sustained while being arrested.

Witnesses say he was leaving the OK Liquor Store on East Biddle street when they observed plainclothes officers run up behind him and slam him to the ground. They say he went limp, and believe he already was dead when an ambulance picked him up.

In a particularly dramatic recounting, Gordon claimed that Anderson was raised in the air "as high as a basketball hoop" and thrown to the ground. Gordon said a crumpled and dying Anderson turned to his mother and said, "God has taken me now. My work here is done. Take care of my family."

Jennifer Cheese, 45, who passed through the vacant lot before the rally, said she saw officers grab Anderson from the back and "tussle with him a little bit." She said they handcuffed him and sat him upright, but that he was slumped over and unresponsive.

"They slammed him, but it wasn't on his head," said Cheese, who said she knew Anderson through a drug treatment program. "They're doing their job, but they took it over the top. That's too much aggression for one pill."

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Racist New Haven Officers Conspired to Violate Constitutional Rights of Latinos: Charged with 35 Acts of harassment, intimidation and excessive force

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From [HERE] Just days after their reputed leader pleaded guilty, three East Haven police officers face more charges as federal prosecutors obtain a new indictment. The new indictment accuses Police Officers David Cari, Dennis Spaulding and Jason Zullo and others with participating in a three-year conspiracy to violate citizen's constitutional rights that now includes 35 different acts of harassment, intimidation and excessive force against mostly Latino citizens.

The indictment also charges Zullo with two additional counts of unreasonable force and a charge of obstruction of justice. Those charges stem from an October, 2008 incident in which Zullo allegedly crashed his cruiser into a motorcycle knocking the driver and the passenger to the ground. The indictment alleges that he punched one of the individuals and then filed a false report on the incident.

The trio is expected to appear before Chief U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson and pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Their trial is expected to begin early next year. The three officers allegedly belonged to a squad known as "Miller's boys" named after their Sgt. John Miller, a former Ansonia police officer, according to federal investigators.

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White Prosecutor Stalling: 1 Year later & No Charges Against Columbus (Ga) Police Officer who Murdered Unarmed Black Firefighter

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From [HERE] and [HERE] It's been a year to the day since Tony Carr was apparently carjacked by a fleeing bank robber, then shot dead by a police officer who was giving chase.

On Sept. 6, 2011, Carr, a 34-year-old Fort Benning firefighter, had gone home to 2907 Gardenia St. at lunch to let his dog out. He was in front of the house just before noon, speaking to his brother, Michael Carr, on his cellphone when Alrahiem Tolbert, 30, who had just robbed the MEA Credit Union around the corner and fled on foot, apparently hijacked Carr's work truck.

It's unclear exactly how or why Carr ended up in the passenger seat of the truck, but as it was backed out of the driveway, it almost hit Columbus Police Officer Vincent Lockhart Jr., 23, who had witnessed the robber fleeing and went after him, according to police reports.

Lockhart opened fire, apparently striking Carr, who had fallen or was falling from the truck, in the chest, wounding him fatally, and hitting Tolbert several times. Tolbert lost control of the truck and slammed into a utility pole. Tolbert was pronounced dead on the scene. Carr died later at The Medical Center.

At first, police considered both men suspects in the robbery. But as the investigation progressed, it became apparent that Carr was an innocent bystander.

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Black Executive Beaten by Detroit Cops in front of his kids files suit: Officer who witnessed attack said it was Unjustified

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Charges Dropped Against Falsely Accused Black Man - 3 Nights in Jail. From [HERE] Keenan Ellsberry said the last thing he expected when he drove to his ex-wife's house in the wee hours of May 2, 2011, was to be mistaken for a drug dealer and beaten by police.

"I thought I was going to die," the 36-year-old advertising executive from West Bloomfield said of the events that morning in Detroit. Ellsberry, who is black, said two white officers savagely attacked him in front of his ex-wife and two of his children and then falsely accused him of assaulting the officers and trying to grab one of their guns. The criminal charges were dropped after Officer Steve Posey, who also is black, told internal affairs investigators that the other officers used excessive force.

Ellsberry says he suffered long-term injuries and is suing the officers and the city. His ex-wife, Chanel Smith, a vice president of a suburban bank branch, filed a separate suit on behalf of their children, saying they are getting therapy for trauma.

The incident began about 3 a.m., according to police reports, dispatch recordings and internal affairs interviews obtained by Ellsberry's lawyers. Officers Brian Terechenok and Justin Lyons, both 12-year department veterans, said Ellsberry failed to signal a turn in Detroit's quiet, middle-class Rosedale Park neighborhood.

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Gang Members have Constitutional Rights also: LA to Pay $5.6 Million to Paralyzed Unarmed Latino Man Gunned Down by LAPD (a costly gang of liars)

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Cell Phones Don't Look Like Guns From [HERE] More than six years ago, officers with the LAPD shot a Latino man they believed to be armed and left him a near quadriplegic. A jury Friday ordered the city of Los Angeles to pay $5.7 million to a Robert Contreras who was shot and paralyzed from the waist down by police after he fled the scene of a shooting. Although the payout, which could reach about $6.5 million if the city is ordered to pay attorney’s fees, was far less than what city officials had been told to expect, it was more than what the city needed to pay in the case: In April, the City Council rejected a proposed settlement deal that would have paid Contreras  $4.5 million.

The jury’s decision compensates the 26-year-old Robert Contreras for injuries he suffered one night in September 2005, when several officers on patrol in South L.A. responded to a report of a nearby shooting. As they arrived, witnesses pointed to a white van speeding away and said people inside the vehicle had let off a volley of gunfire while driving by. After a brief pursuit, the three men in the van jumped out and scattered.

Two officers ran after Contreras, then 19, and followed him down a dark driveway he had ducked into. Officers claimed they opened fire when he turned towards them and had a dark object in his hand. Officers unloaded on him - shooting him multiple times in the side and back. Police claim Contreras had been holding a cellphone. The officers told investigators afterward they had seen a gun in Contreras' hand as he bolted, but an extensive search of the area found no weapon. Because there was none. The jury obviously did not find the officers to be credible. 

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East Haven Officer Agrees to Plea Deal w/Government to Avoid Prison: Police Terrorized Latino Community

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From [HERE] One of four East Haven police officers charged in a federal indictment with terrorizing members of the town's Latino community pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Friday and could avoid prison in exchange for cooperating with the government's case. Sgt. John Miller, 43, was among those involved in crimes ranging from excessive force to obstructing justice, prosecutors alleged. He had previously pleaded not guilty.

In exchange for an agreement to cooperate and possibly testify against others officers, the government agreed to recommend that he avoid prison time. Officers Dennis Spaulding, Jason Zullo and David Cari still face charges. Their trials are expected to begin in January. Miller pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of civil rights. He had faced a maximum of 10 years in prison, although federal guidelines call for 12-18 months if convicted. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1.

Federal authorities spent nearly two years investigating allegations of civil rights abuse by East Haven police officers before arresting the four officers last spring.

The investigation was prompted by a video recording of an encounter between some of the officers and the Rev. James Manship, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in New Haven. The federal probe found a pattern of discrimination by police, particularly against Latino residents.

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Seattle to pay $42,000 to Black man kicked by Seattle police on Video: Officer Assumed Black customer was robber

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From [HERE] The city of Seattle has agreed to pay $42,000 to a man who was kicked by a Seattle police officer in a widely publicized incident in 2010. The settlement, reached after mediation, stemmed from a federal lawsuit brought by D'Vontaveous Hoston, 19, who, among other things, alleged the officer violated his civil rights. In light of the settlement, the suit was dismissed Sept. 11, with the city making no admission of liability.

In October 2010, Officer James J. Lee kicked Hoston, then 17, three times at a Belltown convenience store. The officer believed Hoston had been involved in the assault of an undercover Seattle police officer during a buy-bust drug operation. The incident was captured on store video and broadcast widely in local media and online. Hoston was acquitted of attempted robbery in the incident.

Lee was charged with fourth-degree assault, but the City Attorney's Office dismissed the charge last year after an expert witness for the prosecution changed his mind about Lee's criminal culpability. Lee was later cleared of wrongdoing after Seattle police investigated themselves (internal investigation).

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Justice or White Supremacy? 2 Houston Police Officers Fired in Videotaped Beating of Unarmed Black Teen Get Jobs Back

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15 yr Old Black Boy Treated Like an Animal by HPD From [HERE] Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland confirmed on Thursday that two of the seven police officers he fired for their roles in the videotaped beating of black teen Chad Holley are back on duty after regaining their jobs in the appeals process. However, McClelland said he assigned both officers to the department's property room to prevent them from interacting with the public.

McClelland said he still feels justified in firing senior police officer Lewis Childress and police officer Guadencio Saucedo in June 2010. They were among a dozen officers from the westside division who McClelland disciplined after receiving a surveillance tape showing the officers running down a group of fleeing burglars.

15-year-old Chad Holley, was kicked and punched repeatedly even though he was lying face down with his hands behind his head. In security video footage, Holley can be seen on the ground, surrounded by at least five officers who are stomping, kicking and hitting him. Holley does not resist. He is treated like an animal. The mayor had concealed the tape. It was released to the public by activist Quannell X. On May 17th an all-white jury found a white former city police officer not guilty in the beating of the unarmed teen. [MORE]  

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'It's Not Illegal to sit in a car, even if it's 4AM. I call it Racial Profiling' - Burris Seeks Probe in Vallejo Police Killing of Black Man

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From [HERE] Civil rights attorney, John Burris said Thursday he will ask the U.S. Justice Department to review the Vallejo Police Department's latest fatal officer-involved shooting. Burris told a news conference that he is representing Joseph Johnson, 21, and Mario Romero's 3-year-old daughter.

Johnson and Romero, 23, were involved in an officer-involved shooting early Sept. 2 in which Romero was killed and Johnson was wounded. The two were sitting in Romero's car outside his North Vallejo home at about 4:30 a.m.. Police contend that when they approached the car, Romero reached for a gun in his waistband, and that is why he was shot. The gun was later identified as a pellet gun. Family members have strongly denied he had a gun as well as other claims police have made. [MORE] They were not engaged in any unlawful activity. 

Along with a letter seeking a Justice Department investigation, Burris said he will file a federal civil rights suit against the police department. "We believe that this issue is a large part of a bigger issue in Vallejo," Burris said. "There's a systematic problem in the department, not just in this one case."

Romero's was the the fifth Vallejo officer-involved shooting death since May 25. "It is an astronomical number for a city the size of Vallejo," Burris said. Burris responded, "soon" when asked when he would take the two actions. "My letter is going to request another investigation of the systematic discriminating nature of (Vallejo) law enforcement," he said. "It is not illegal to sit in the car, even if it's at 4 in the morning. I call it racial profiling."

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Family Wants Feds to Probe Riverside Deputy Fatal Shooting of Jesus Castillo: Witnesses say Police Shot Unarmed Latino Man in the Back from 15 feet away

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In photo, Jesus Castillo, father of the late Jesus Castillo, holds a picture of his son during a family a candlelight vigil at Moreno Valley Community Park on July 6, 2012. The family is protesting the shooting of Castillo, 31, by a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy July 1.  From [HERE] The attorney for a Moreno Valley family has asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate the shooting death of family member Jesus Castillo by a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy.

Luis A. Carrillo wrote in a letter to Andre Birotte Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, that witnesses his investigator interviewed contradicted the Sheriff’s Department’s account of the July 1 fight at Moreno Valley Community Park between Castillo and a sheriff’s deputy and the subsequent shooting.

Deputies originally went to the park to investigate a report of a man harassing children near a bathroom. Castillo believes his son was at the park to play soccer. Castillo spoke with the deputy, lifted his shirt to show he didn’t have a weapon and then walked toward a parking lot. The deputy lunged toward Castillo and pulled him to the ground. As they wrestled, the deputy put Castillo in a chokehold. Castillo freed himself and ripped “a speaker” from the deputy’s lapel. Castillo walked away toward a parking lot. The deputy fired three times from 15 feet, twice hitting Castillo in the back. Other deputies arrived, hitting and kicking the fallen Castillo in the face.

One witness, Ronald Carcamo, 31, of Moreno Valley, said that Castillo knocked down the deputy, they struggled, and then the man walked away. Then the deputy pulled a gun and shot the man, who was 15 to 20 feet away, Carcamo said.

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Vallejo Police Execute Black Man in his Driveway, say he reached for "pellet gun" - Mayor Calls for State Review and Police Body Cameras

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From [HERE] and [MORE]  Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis said Wednesday that he will seek an independent investigation into the recent controversial officer-involved shooting death of Mario Romero Johnson. Davis said he will ask the City Council to request that Attorney Gen. Kamala Harris' office look into concerns raised since police officers killed Romero, 23, while he sat with his brother-in-law, Joseph Johnson, 21 in his car outside his North Vallejo home early Sept. 2.

They were not doing anything unlawful. Police had no valid legal basis to approach them - offering only that they approached due to recent gang-related activity in the neighborhood. They said officers fired repeatedly at Romero because they believed he had reached for a gun in his waistband.

According to police the weapon turned out to be a pellet gun. Family members, however, have vehemently denied that he had such a weapon, or police assertions that he had 50 ecstasy tablets in his car. Joseph Johnson was shot through his hip and hospitalized.

"I saw everything," said Romero's sister, Cynquita Martin, whose house Romero shared with her. "My brother never got out of the car. My brother was slumped over in that boy's lap," Martin said. "He caught bullets for that child (Johnson). He saved somebody's life while they was killing him." [MORE] 

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$5 Million Suit Filed Against PG County Cop: Officer Chased & Attacked Black Teen who was outside playing football

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From [HERE] and [HERE] Kyre Jenkins, 14, said he is still struggling to overcome his encounter last year with a Prince George’s County police officer, who he alleges tackled him to the ground, struck him in the head multiple times and put a gun against his face. “I was extremely scared. I thought I was going to die,” the Bowie High School freshman said.

The officer, Cpl. Ricky Adey, a 10-year veteran, has since been indicted in county district court on assault charges relating to the incident, and Jenkins’ mother, Kita Jenkins, of Bowie filed a $5 million excessive force lawsuit today against the county and officer, and is hoping to have Adey fired from the force.

According to county police, Adey responded to the 6900 block of Walker Mill Road in Capitol Heights around 11:30 p.m. Aug. 4, 2011, for the sound of shots fired when he discovered a group of youths running away and allegedly assaulted Kyre. According to the lawsuit, filed by attorney Jimmy Bell, Adey grabbed the boy while he was running, struck him in the head three times and placed a handgun against his face, saying, “Have you ever had a hammer to your head?” Adey was indicted by a grand jury July 26 for first- and second-degree assault, and misconduct in office.

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Baltimore Police Officer sentenced for dealing heroin - while in uniform

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From [HERE] and [HERE] A Baltimore police officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking in heroin, a crime prosecutors say he committed while on duty and in uniform.Forty-one-year-old Daniel Redd of Baltimore was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.According to his plea agreement, last year Redd met with a co-conspirator to obtain 40 grams of heroin while on duty. Redd also met on the parking lot of the Northwest District Police Station and provided 200 grams of heroin to a co-conspirator while on duty, dressed in full uniform and carrying his service firearm.

Prosecutors alleged that Redd and a Ghanaian man named Tamim Mamah, also known as Abdul Zakaria, headed a drug organization that imported drugs from West Africa.

"Using a police officer's badge and gun to commit crime is a particularly egregious threat to the community." Timothy P. Groh, acting FBI special agent in charge of the Baltimore field office, said in a statement. "It should serve as a warning that local, state, and federal agencies are working together to root out those that would hide behind a position of authority to break the law, and bring them to justice."

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