New Short Film #AmeriCAN Shows Racist Cops are Victims of their own Anger, Ignorance and Fear

#AmeriCAN is a short movie directed by Nate Parker about a racist suspect cop and the suffering he causes. Karma or the law of cause and effect is a MF. 

Settlement Reached in Deliberate Death of Black Man: White Satsuma (AL) Cop Intentionally Ran Over Black Man with Cop Car at Full Speed

From [HERE] Lawyers for a psychopathic white Satsuma police officer reached an out-of-court settlement Friday with attorneys for the brother of a Black man whom the officer intentionally ran over after a high-speed chase six years ago.

The brother of Jermaine Gaillard had sued Sam Commins on behalf of the estate, accusing him of wrongful-death and a federal civil rights violation in July 2008. That case was set to begin Tuesday in U.S. District Court. But an entry in the case file indicates that attorneys filed a confidential settlement agreement at a pretrial conference on Friday.

According to court records, Gaillard was a passenger in a Dodge Charger driven by Hillary Bernard Baldwin, who led law enforcement officers on a chase that exceeded 100 mph. Police claim Baldwin sped away after a Baldwin County sheriff's deputy attempted to question him about whether he was carrying drugs.

Mobile County sheriff's deputies placed a spike strip along Bay Bridge Road off of Interstate 165 in Prichard, stopping the car.

That's when Baldwin and Gaillard bailed and took off running. A dashboard camera in Commins' squad car showed the vehicle turning right over a grassy median and then shifting left when the two men ran across the road. The squad car then struck Gaillard, running him over, killing him. The car appears to accelerate when Galliard comes into view. At any rate the white cop apparently made no effort to slow down and hit him while moving at a high speed.

The officer maintained that he struck Gailliard accidentally. An expert witness was going to testify about hearing the officer's patrol car accelerate before striking Gaillard. 

Boston Police Data Shows Widespread Racial Bias in Street Encounters with Civilians

ACLU

Boston Police Department (BPD) officers have engaged in widespread racially biased street encounters with civilians, according to a study of four years of BPD police-civilian encounter records summarized in a report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Massachusetts.

"This data from the Boston Police Department is clear and compelling: Boston needs to adopt reforms to ensure fair and effective policing," said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.

The findings confirm what many people have long suspected: Boston police officers targeted both communities of color and people of color at far greater rates than white communities or white people.

Preliminary analysis by a BPD-selected researcher of more than 204,000 department reports of police-civilian encounters from 2007 to 2010 found that blacks were subjected to 63 percent of these encounters, even though they made up just 24 percent of Boston's population. The analysis also showed that crime--whether measured by neighborhood crime rates, arrest records, or alleged gang membership of people subjected to police encounters--cannot justify or explain away the evidence of racial bias.

"These findings are clear evidence of racial bias in BPD policing," said Matthew Segal, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. "This practice contradicts the principle of equal protection under the law, which is guaranteed by both the U.S. and Massachusetts Constitutions. We hope that we can work collaboratively with the BPD to address this problem."

The preliminary analysis--which was shared with the BPD, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, and the national ACLU--suggests that thousands of black Bostonians were observed, stopped, interrogated, frisked, or searched because of their race. Key preliminary findings, all of which control for non-race factors, include the following:

• Young black men were more likely than young white men to be targeted for police-civilian encounters such as stops, frisks, searches, observations, and interrogations.
• When police-civilian encounters occurred, young black men were more likely than young white men to be frisked or searched.
• Young black men were more likely to be targeted for repeat police-civilian encounters.

The data also show that, for Bostonians of all races, the BPD has failed to ensure that police-civilian encounters comply with constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

To "stop" someone, a police officer must have an individualized and objectively reasonable suspicion that a person is involved in a crime. The Boston reports showed, instead, that in three-quarters of all police-civilian encounters, the officer's stated reason for initiating the encounter was simply "investigate person."

"'Investigate person' cannot provide a constitutionally permissible reason for stopping or frisking someone," said Segal. "It only describes what the officer decided to do. It basically means: ‘because I said so'."

Finally, the BPD has not shown that its stop-and-frisk tactics were effective in fighting crime. According to Department officials, officers did not file reports when encounters resulted in arrest. And, for the 204,000-plus reports that were completed, only 2.5 percent indicate that an officer seized weapons, drugs, or other contraband.

"The Boston Police Department has not provided any documents showing that it has eradicated racially biased policing, or that it now ensures that its stops and frisks are justified, despite ACLU requests for this information," said Nusrat Choudhury, staff attorney with the national ACLU's Racial Justice Project. "Even if reported police encounters have declined since the high rates of 2007-2010, it does not mean that racial bias has gone down at all."

After Violent Arrest of Black Man outside MLK Public Library White DC Cop says 'this not a public place, stop recording.'

Are Lawsuits vs. Cops Stopping the War being Waged Against You? Birmingham Settles Case of 5 Cops who Beat Concussed Black Man After Car Wreck

On Jan. 23, 2008 38-year-old Anthony Warren was severley beaten by five Birmingham Police officers. He suffered a severe concussion, a skull fracture, internal bleeding and broken bones. The incident was captured on video. Birmingham police officers "repeatedly struck [him] about his head and body causing him to be hospitalized for four days and unconscious for the majority of that time.'

Although numerous Birmingham officers and supervisors had seen the the video- none reported it for nearly a year. The beating and stomping began after his van had flipped over twice on the side of the road and Warren had been ejected from the vehicle onto the ground. As he layed motionless on the ground, angry, excited cops began kicking and beating on his limp body - on video. [MORE]

From [HERE] Even after settling with the city of Birmingham, Ala., one Black man will remain locked up, and as it turns out, his lawyers will get more of a payout than he will, AL.com reports.

Inmate Anthony Warren settled for $460,000 in a police-brutality lawsuit, but under the terms approved by the City Council and Birmingham Mayor William Bell, Warren will only pocket $1,000, while his attorneys will receive $359,000 in fees and he’ll have to shell out an additional $100,000 in expenses, the news site report.

The lawsuit accused five Birmingham cops of using excessive force. The five white officers -- David Doran, Barrett G. Dewitt, Heath Boackle, Thomas Cleveland and Kenneth Prevo.  

According to the report, Warren incited the chase after he tried to get away from a narcotics officer, leading the authorities on a 20- to 25-minute car high speed chase across multiple cities. Warren reportedly hit a school bus, a patrol car and a Hoover police officer who was trying to lay down tire-puncture strips across U.S. Highway 31 in an attempt to stop him. What was the dangerous high speed pursuit for? Police claimed Warren had some drugs. No drugs were ever found and no drug charges were filed. 

He is currently serving out a 20-year prison sentence connected to a so-called attempted-murder charge for the injury of the Hoover officer he hit.

White supremacy/racism is carried out through violence and/or deception. 

Anonymous - Operation Shock Drop #OpFerguson #OpHandsUp #OpCopWatch

Amnesty: Ferguson Race Soldier Cops committed human rights abuses

From [HERE] Police in Ferguson, Missouri committed human rights abuses against peaceful protesters between August 14 and 22, Amnesty International USA (AI) [advocacy website] reported [text] Friday. The human rights concerns were witnessed first-hand by AI while in Ferguson during the protests. "What Amnesty International witnessed in Missouri on the ground this summer underscored that human rights abuses do not just happen across borders and oceans," said Steven Hawkins, executive director of AI USA:

No matter where you live in the world, everyone is entitled to the same basic rights as a human being—and one of those rights is the freedom to peacefully protest. Standing on W. Florissant Avenue with my colleagues, i saw a police force, rated to the teeth, with military-grade weapons. I saw a crowd that included the elderly and young children fighting the effects of tear gas. there must be accountability and systematic change that follows this excessive force.

AI also made several recommendations to local, state and federal authorities regarding the use of legal force and policing of protests, and called for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the death of Michael Brown. Finally, the report called for the US Congress to pass the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act [text, PDF]. [MORE]

Vonderrit Myers Jr. Autopsy: White St. Louis Cop Shot Black Teen 6 Times From Behind

Ibtimes

Vonderrit Myers Jr. was shot eight times, including six times from behind, by an off-duty St. Louis police officer earlier this month, The Associated Press reported, citing an autopsy report by a forensic pathologist Thursday. Myers' death came nearly two months after a white police officer fatally shot another black teen, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri.

The independent autopsy, which was conducted by Dr. Cyril Wecht at the request of Myers’ family, reportedly revealed that the 18-year-old black teen was running away from the officer. It’s likely that Myers was shot six times in the back of both legs, Wecht reportedly said during a news conference. Wecht added that a wound to the side of Myers’ face likely caused his death.

"The evidence shows that the story we've been given by the Police Department does not match up," Jerryl Christmas, one of the family’s attorneys said, according to AP. "There's no evidence that there was a gun battle going on."

St. Louis police had reportedly said that Myers first shot at the officer. Police Chief Sam Dotson reportedly said that the black teen had fired three shots before his gun jammed, AP reported. A Missouri State Highway Patrol report revealed that Myers had gunshot residue on his hands and clothing.

“The presence of gunshot residue on a person’s hands could mean the individual discharged a firearm, was near a firearm when it was discharged or touched an object with gunshot residue on it. Individuals shot at close range can have gunshot residue deposited onto their hands,” the statement read.

Brian Millikan, the attorney for the officer who shot Myers, reportedly said that the independent autopsy results also support the police account.

"It's absolutely consistent with what the officer told the investigators from early on," Millikan, a former St. Louis police officer, said, according to AP. "There were no shots fired when (Myers) was running away. That's simply not true."

Millikan reportedly said that Myers was shot in the back of his legs when “he was propped up on his left elbow, and his legs were facing out at the policeman as he went down, but he was still holding the gun and pointing it at the policeman.”

Grand jury in Eric Garner case and new chokeholds report

Final Call

On Oct. 6 a special Grand Jury began to hear testimony in the ‘chokehold’ death of Eric Garner, 43, the same day, his family filed a Notice of Claim to sue the city and the NYPD and New York City Comptroller for $75 million. Mr. Garner died July 17 as police officers wrestled him to the ground, allegedly attempting to arrest the father of six for selling untaxed cigarettes,  The notice also names police officers Daniel Pantaleo, Justin D’Amico, Craig Furlani, Christopher Maldonado, William Meems and Mark Ramos as defendants.

The Notice of Claim includes wrongful death, pain and suffering, assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent supervision and negligent training, noting that Officer Pantaleo recklessly placed Mr. Garner in the banned chokehold maneuver.

“In order to sue a municipality, you must file Notice of Claim within 90 days of the date of the incident. It is unusual that they are filing a notice in this case, which is only necessary for state court,” Attorney Matthew Muhammad explained to The Final Call.

A statement released by Rev. Al Sharpton, chairman of the National Action Network, the family’s adviser stated, “We must protect the family’s rights. No one should read anything else into it.”

Meanwhile Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan convened the Special Grand Jury under a veil of secrecy.  “D.A. Donovan has to do something,” said Attorney Muhammad, a member of the Nation of Islam.

He served in the office of the Manhattan District Attorney from 2004 to 2007. He explained the difference between a regular versus a special grand jury. “This grand jury will only hear evidence related to the Eric Garner case; but won’t be given instructions from Mr. Donovan,” Attorney Muhammad said.

‘Biking While Black’ Can Get You A Criminal Summons In New York City

Think Progress

The New York Police Department’s record of targeting people of color is well documented. Under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 87 percent of people stopped under the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk program were black or Latino. Black men between the ages of 14 and 24 were stopped so frequently that there were actually more police stops of young black men than there are young black men in New York City. Though incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to reform the stop-and-frisk program, racial minorities are still much more likely to be stopped than white New Yorkers. Under de Blasio, “55.4 percent of those stopped were black, down only 0.4 percent from 2013 and up 0.6 percent from 2012 . . . [a]nd 30.2 percent of those stopped were Latino, compared to 29.4 percent in 2013 and 31.8 percent in 2012.”

A new study by Queens College sociology professor Harry Levine and former ACLU attorney Loren Siegel finds the NYPD’s propensity to target African Americans and Latinos extends even to the most banal offenses. Levine and Siegel examined the rate that police hand down criminal summons to people riding their bicycle on the sidewalk. Of the 15 New York neighborhoods with the most summonses for this offense, 12 are predominantly black or Latino. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods with the least summonses are overwhelmingly white:

"Cultural Clothes" Punks White NYPD Cop in Racism Expose

[MORE] Amos Wilson explains that "an objective of white supremacy/racism is to decontextualize subject matter and project it as race neutral/objective." Problems such as police brutality and racial targeting can never be solved or understood outside of their context of white supremacy/racism. It is the root of cause of these symptoms. 

'Whites engage is racism because they have the power to do so. To end racism we must end white power.' 

Independent Autopsy shows that Darrien Hunt was shot in the back by Saratoga Springs Cops

Good4utah

The family of Darrien Hunt says Saratoga Springs officers used excessive force when they fatally shot the 22-year-old outside a  Panda Express last month. Now they say they have the independent autopsy to prove it.

During a press conference Friday Susan Hunt, Darrien's mother, said she has heard nothing from police or investigators in the weeks since her son was killed. "If in any way they think they can justify this, why haven't they?" asked Hunt.

The Hunt family believes the 22-year-old was actually running away from police when he was shot.

Robert Sykes, the Hunt Family Attorney said, "What we believe happened, based on the limited evidence that we have right now, is that Darrien for whatever reason was running from these officers and was deliberately shot in the back multiple times."

The family hired Dr. J. Wallace Graham, a former Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Utah, to perform an independent autopsy.

Sykes said, "We believe if we're reading this correctly this autopsy tells us that 5 out of 6 bullets penetrated from the rear and the fatal shot right smack dab in the middle of the back."

ABC 4 Utah contacted Dr. Graham for an explanation of his report. He says the report is just preliminary and that he can't account for the sequence of the shots until he has all of the evidence. Graham says he needs to see the final medical examiner's report, the bullets that were fired, Hunt's clothing and other evidence before he can come to a conclusion. He says from his examination of the body he can only be certain that three of the six bullets that hit Hunt were fired from behind.

"One is in the right arm and left leg and those can be in different positions," explained Dr. Graham. "An arm can be extended it can be raised as if you're wielding a weapon."

Hunt's family says there's no way he would have lunged at police. They say the sword was a cheap imitation that couldn't have hurt anybody.

Susan Hunt said, "My son knows its a butter knife. He's not going to pull it out and hurt somebody with something he knows he can't hurt them with. He wasn't aggressive with the sword."

Cindy Moss, Darrien's Aunt, believes Darrien may have gone to the Panda Express that day to look for a job. "I said it upfront and I still believe this he thought he was going to impress Panda Express by showing them his great skills," said Moss. "He's still a nerdy kid that thinks it's cool."

Sykes says Darrien didn't pose an immediate threat and therefore should not have been shot down. "The officers of this state, must obey the law," said Sykes. "This is about obeying the law, obeying the rules, one of the rules is you don't use deadly force in a  situation like this. Why were they using deadly force?"

Skyes said he has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the shooting, and Hunt's mother told reporters she plans to file a wrongful death suit against the Saratoga Springs Police Department.

Ridley Township Police Cops Accused of Using Taser on Black Man's Groin - suit filed

DelcoTimes

A Black man alleges excessive force was used by five police officers during his arrest for public drunkenness back in November 2012, according to a civil lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court.

Attorney J. Conor Corcoran filed the seven-count suit on behalf of Kiyean Brown and his wife, Erin Bean. The suit alleges Brown suffered serious bodily impairments, pain and trauma after he was intentionally Tasered in the groin area by Ridley Township Police Officer Matthew Rowan, who was backing up then-Glenolden Police Officer Joseph Juisti during Browns arrest in the 100 block of North Llanwellyn Avenue in Glenolden, at about 2 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2012.

As a result of the shock, Corcoran said Brown suffered serious bodily impairment including urinary incontinence, pain, trauma and embarrassment. The extent of Brown’s impairment is unknown.

“It’s a bad little case for these officers. At some point, these bastards have to learn to leave their macho-man ways aside because they are torturing people while in custody, with electricity,” Corcoran said Friday. “There is a history in the area of this behavior.”

At the time of his arrest, according to the suit, Brown was walking home in the 100 block of North Llanwellyn Avenue, and was directly outside his residence, when he was taken into custody. Attorney John M. Corcoran, Conor Corcoran’s father, represented Brown on the criminal charges.

According to the affidavit of probable cause for arrest, Juisti was on patrol when he responded to a report of a fight at the Red Lantern bar. As he was leaving that scene, he made contact with Brown in the area of the 100 block of North Llanwellyn Avenue, who was yelling and screaming obscenities. Brown failed to listen to numerous officers’ requests to stop causing a disturbance and was arrested.

The affidavit described Brown as argumentative and combative, and indicated that Brown kicked Juisti’s right knee several times while officers’ attempted to put Brown into the police car.

In addition to public drunkenness, Brown was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, according to records. He was convicted of simple assault and resisting arrest under a negotiated guilty plea, and sentenced to one year probation, 40 hours community service, anger management class, drug/alcohol evaluation and electronic home monitoring for the first six months.

His sentence, under an Intermediate Punishment Program, was effective June 24, 2013.

Corcoran said his client had no involvement in the disturbance at the bar, located on Oak Avenue in Folcroft.

Named in the suit along with Rowan and Juisti are Officers Louis DeVito and Bill Christie of Collingdale, and Officer Michael Laverghetta of Darby Township. Rowan, DeVito, Christie and Laverghetta were described as Juisti’s backups.

Because Juisti, Devito, Christie and Laverghetta were in the immediate vicinity of Brown and Rowan when the Taser was used but didn’t do or say anything, they were “tantamount to wantonly, excessively, and unnecessarily torturing plaintiff Brown,” the suit states.

The municipalities of Glenolden, Ridley Township, Collingdale and Darby Township are also listed as defendants.

“I have not seen the lawsuit. When I take a look at it, I will direct the borough appropriately,” Michael Puppio, solicitor for Glenolden, said Friday.

Peter J. Rohana, Sam Auslander and Michael Pierce, solicitors for Ridley Township, Collingdale and Darby Township, respectively, did not return messages left at their offices Friday.

Currently, Juisti is employed by Chester, and DeVito and Laverghetta are employed by Philadelphia, authorities said.

“Rowan, who was in no danger whatsoever, spitefully took out his Taser, reached into the patrol car, and Tased Mr. Brown in the testicles with a dry or contact Tase, meaning he shoved the Taser directly on my client’s crotch, rather than shoot from a distance,” Corcoran said. “The electrocution cauterized my client’s testicle, burning a hole in his scrotum. It also burned his thigh, and has caused what appears to be tremendous damage to my client’s urological system.”

Described as “a large man” at 6 feet 3 inches tall and 260 pounds, the suit states that Brown struggled at the time of the arrest to get his entire body into the back seat of the patrol vehicle, while his hands were cuffed behind his back.

Brown was in custody, handcuffed and seated in the rear of a police cruiser when, in an attempt to slide himself into the back seat pursuant to Juisti’s orders, his leg hit Juisti’s right knee, the suit states.

Without warning or justification, the suit alleges, Rowan “savagely Tasered (Brown) specifically in the testicles and about his thighs and groin.”

According to the suit, “Rowan’s electrocution of (Brown) was not objectively reasonable by any standard, let alone that of a reasonable officer on the scene.”

The suit claims Bean has been and will continue to be deprived of her husband’s companionship, services, society and consortium, as well as incur expenses for her husband’s medical attention to treat and/or cure his injuries.

The couple, who according to an online gift registry recently was expecting a baby, is demanding a jury trial and is seeking a $1.5 million judgment.

Corcoran noted his client is not challenging the validity of his conviction, and as such is permitted civilly “to pursue the essential issue” of alleged use of excessive force by police.

“I would think a Taser to the testicle qualifies,” Corcoran said.